The East 63rd branch, formerly known as the Jackson Park branch, is a long branch of the

Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railway, elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the four ...

operated as part the Green Line by the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...

, serving the Woodlawn neighborhood of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois.

History

The first station on the East 63rd branch, 61st Street, opened January 22, 1893. Service was extended to Madison Avenue (later renamed Dorchester) on April 23, 1893, and to Jackson Park on May 12, 1893, to serve the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

, which was held in Jackson Park. On October 31, 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition ended and the Jackson Park station was closed. Stony Island was then made the terminus and was renamed Jackson Park. On March 4, 1982, structural defects in the Jackson Park branch's bridge over the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

forced its closure south of the 61st street stop. When the branch reopened on December 12, 1982, service was only restored as far as the

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

stop. On January 9, 1994, the Green Line closed for renovation. When the line reopened on May 12, 1996, the Cottage Grove stop was the new terminal, and the Jackson Park branch was renamed the East 63rd branch. On September 27, 1997, the portion of the branch east of Cottage Grove was demolished with less than 24 hours public notice.Green Line:East 63rd (Jackson Park) branch
Chicago "L".org. Accessed August 16, 2013

Station listing

References

{{Chicago L Railway lines in Chicago Railway lines opened in 1893 Chicago "L" infrastructure