Merchandise Mart is a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

on 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 ...

's 'L' system, located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 350 North Wells Street in

Chicago, Illinois 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 ...

(directional coordinates 320 north, 200 west). The station is elevated above street level, on a steel structure. The

turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

s and customer assistant booth of the station are located on the second level of the

Merchandise Mart The Merchandise Mart (or the Merch Mart, or the Mart) is a commercial building in Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, Illinois. When it opened in 1930, it was the List of largest buildings, world's largest building, with of floor space. The Art De ...

itself. This is the main entrance to the station. There are two fare-card only, unattended entrances atop two long stairways accessed directly from Wells Street, just north of Kinzie Avenue. The station is constructed mostly of steel, with wooden platforms covered by a canopy most of their length. There are two side platforms both long enough to support eight-car trains, the longest possible on the CTA system. The southbound platform is just slightly below the level of the station entrance while an enclosed bridge over the tracks connects to the northbound platform on the opposite side. The station is fully accessible, resulting in a complicated

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

setup. The elevator on the southbound platform can lower from the entrance to the platform, as well as go up to the top of the bridge. Another elevator on the opposite side of the bridge lowers to the northbound platform.

History

Kinzie station

Kinzie was a

on the

Northwestern Elevated Railroad The Northwestern Elevated Railroad was the last of the privately constructed rapid transit lines to be built in Chicago. The line ran from the Loop in downtown Chicago north to Wilson Avenue in Chicago's Uptown, Chicago, Uptown neighborhood with a ...

's North Side Main Line. The station was located at Kinzie Street and Wells Street in the Near North Side 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 ...

. Its location once served the nearby C&NW passenger terminal,

Wells Street Station Wells Street Station was a passenger terminal of the Chicago and North Western Railway, located at the southwest corner of Wells Street and Kinzie Street in Chicago, Illinois. It was replaced in 1911 by the Chicago and North Western Termin ...

, prior to the 1911 opening of a new C&NW terminal at today's

Ogilvie Transportation Center The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (), on the site of the former Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a commuter rail train station, terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. For the last century, this site has served as the primary t ...

. Kinzie opened on May 31, 1900, and closed in 1921; it was replaced by the

Grand Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

station. Today, Kinzie Street is serviced by Brown Line and

Purple Line Express The Purple Line of the Chicago "L" is a route on the northernmost section of the system. The service normally begins from in Wilmette and ends at on Chicago's north border, passing through the city of Evanston. During weekday rush hours, th ...

trains at Merchandise Mart station.

Merchandise Mart station

The current station opened on December 5, 1930, and was rebuilt from 1987 to 1988. Until 1963 the station also served

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

trains of the North Shore Line. The primary purpose of the station is to serve the

, one of the world's largest commercial buildings, although there are some galleries and restaurants nearby.

Service

Merchandise Mart serves the Brown Line, but Purple Line Express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours. Merchandise Mart was the only Brown Line station that did not receive upgrades or renovation during the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. Due its recent construction from 1987 to 1988, the station was already accessible to passengers with disabilities and of sufficient length to accommodate eight-car trains, thus no major renovation was needed during the project.

Bus connections

CTA * 37 Sedgwick (Weekdays only) * 125 Water Tower Express (Weekday rush hours only)

References

External links

Merchandise Mart
a
Chicago-'L'.org

Train schedule (PDF)
a
CTA official siteKinzie Street exit-only stairs from Google Maps Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merchandise Mart (Cta) CTA Brown Line stations CTA Purple Line stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1930 Former North Shore Line stations