Wilson (CTA)
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Wilson is an 'L' station on the CTA's
North Side Main Line The North Side Main Line is a branch of the Chicago "L" system that is used by Red, Purple, and Brown Line trains. As of 2012, it is the network's busiest rail branch, serving an average of 123,229 passengers each weekday. The branch is long wi ...
, located at 4620 North Broadway in the
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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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. It is served at all times by the Red Line and by the Purple Line on weekdays at rush hour.


History

The station opened on May 31, 1900, as the northern terminus of 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 ...
. It was converted to a two level station in 1907, with a loop track to aid turning trains. Wilson became a through station in 1908 when the Northwestern Elevated Railroad was extended to in Evanston (using tracks belonging to the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
). The extended right-of-way allowed for a retail structure partially beneath the elevated tracks, which was designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
in 1909, known as the Stohr Arcade Building. This structure only lasted until razing in 1922. The Stohr Arcade Building included "design themes that are reminiscent of the Robie House designed three years earlier". The previous station building, known as the Gerber Building, was built in 1923, shortly after the tracks to the north were elevated; the McJunkin Building across was then used to access the Lower station platforms. Over the years the station has been extensively reconfigured: the lower level was closed on August 1, 1949; the platforms were reconfigured in 1960; and the North Shore Line—which also used the station—ceased operation in 1963, enabling the station layout to be simplified. A yard and shops were built adjacent to the station in 1901, these continued in use until the Howard Yard was expanded in 1993. The shop building was badly damaged in a fire on October 26, 1996, and the site was cleared soon after. This site remained empty for several years with plans for development in place. As of 2011, an
Aldi Aldi (German pronunciation: ), stylised as ALDI, is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 12,000 stores in 18 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and ...
store, a
Target Target may refer to: Warfare and shooting * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artille ...
store, and residences now occupy this area.


Stub track

An elevated stub line from the station is a remnant of a connection into the former Buena Interchange Yard, where freight was exchanged with the
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States, Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Northwest of the United States from 1847 ...
. The CTA stopped carrying freight in the early 1970s and the stub was demolished south of Montrose Avenue. The Lakewood Avenue branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway is now operated by the
Soo Line Railroad The Soo Line Railroad is one of the primary United States railroad subsidiaries for the CPKC Railway , one of six U.S. Class I railroads, controlled through the Soo Line Corporation. Although it is named for the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Saul ...
, but no longer exists north of Diversey Avenue. In 2010, further demolition split the remaining stub into two sections to allow for new Truman College construction.


Wilson Station Reconstruction Project

The CTA's 2004–2008 Capital Improvement Plan included plans to reconstruct the station starting in 2008. In 2012, the CTA began planning to reconstruct the station to create a transfer point between
Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...
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 (the only one since express service was discontinued in 1976). The rebuilt station has a new main station entrance on the south side of Wilson, elevators, escalators, wider stairwells, additional turnstiles, new lights, new signage, additional bike parking, new security cameras, new train trackers, two
island platforms An island platform (also center platform (American English) or centre platform (British English)) is a station layout arrangement where a single railway platform, platform is positioned between two railway track, tracks within a railway station, ...
to provide cross platform transfers between the two lines, and two auxiliary entrances: one at Sunnyside Avenue and one on the north side of Wilson. Demolition work for the project began in October 2014 and a groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 8, 2014. The station remained open during reconstruction. Demolition of track 1 (the western track) began during the weekend of March 6, 2015. As a result, southbound Purple Line Express trains shared the same track with southbound Red Line trains and stopped at Wilson, Sheridan, and Addison in the AM rush hour only. This phase lasted for one year which ended with the activation of the new track 1 and new southbound platform. Demolition of track 2 began on March 21, 2016. Temporary entrances opened on the same day and will remain open until completion of reconstruction. In addition, the western half of the new southbound platform opened for southbound Red Line and AM rush hour Purple Line Express trains, with Purple Line Express trains bypassing Addison station once again. Northbound Red Line trains continued to use the old platform, and the western half of the old Red Line platform closed. Demolition of track 3 and the start of construction for a new northbound platform and new stationhouse began on September 26, 2016. The remaining half of the southbound platform reopened and the old platform used by Red Line trains closed. Northbound Red Line trains will stop on the eastern half of the southbound platform until the end of the project. Demolition of track 4 started on March 13, 2017. This phase was completed on September 20, 2017. The east platform and the auxiliary entrance on the north side of Wilson opened for service on October 23, 2017. The auxiliary entrance on Sunnyside Avenue opened for service on December 1, 2017. On February 5, 2018, The CTA announced the completion of the project.


Red and Purple Modernization Project

From May 2021 until July 2023, the two northbound tracks were taken out of service so the structure carrying those tracks could be rebuilt north of the station, with all trains running on the southbound tracks, From July 2023 until summer 2025, the two southbound tracks were taken out of service so the structure carrying those tracks could be rebuilt north of the station, with all trains running on the northbound tracks. The project will be completed in summer 2025.


Facilities

The station has two island platforms serving four tracks. Red Line trains stop on the inside tracks, while Purple Line Express trains stop on the outside tracks during weekday rush hours.


Location

The station is located in the
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neighborhood at 4620 North Broadway in
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 Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
(directional coordinates 4600 north, 1100 west). It is the closest station to
Harry S Truman College Harry S Truman College or Truman College, formerly called Mayfair College, is a part of City Colleges of Chicago. It offers multiple 2-year associate degrees, as well as occupational training in a number of fields. Located at 1145 West Wilson ...
.


Bus connections

CTA *36 Broadway *78 Montrose *81 Lawrence


References


External links


Wilson Station Page
a
Chicago-'L'.org

Train schedule (PDF)
a
CTA official siteWilson Station PageCTA official siteBroadway Avenue Primary Entrance from Google Maps Street ViewWilson Avenue auxiliary entrance from Google Maps Street View
{{Chicago "L" stations navbox, Red=Yes, Purple=Yes CTA Red Line stations CTA Purple Line stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1900 Former North Shore Line stations Frank Lloyd Wright buildings