CANAL 500W 300S | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 324–326 South Canal Street Chicago, Illinois[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°52′38″N 87°38′23″W / 41.8773°N 87.6397°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Chicago Transit Authority (1947–1958) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924–1947) See text before 1924 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Line(s) | Metropolitan main line Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 island platforms | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 4 tracks | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Connections | Union Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | May 6, 1895 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | June 22, 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rebuilt | 1922 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| August 1, 1927 | CA&E service introduced | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| February 25, 1951 | Logan Square and Humboldt Park service discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| September 20, 1953 | CA&E service discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| April 4, 1954 | Douglas Park service discontinued | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957 | 2,089,044  10.19% (CTA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rank | 23 out of 133 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Canal was a rapid transit station located on the Metropolitan main line of the Chicago "L" that was in service from 1895 to 1958, when the entire main line was replaced by the Congress Line located in the median of the nearby Eisenhower Expressway. Starting in 1927, the interurban Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) also served the station, continuing until 1953. The station connected with Chicago's Union Station, which was one of the city's rail terminals. One of the busiest stations on the Metropolitan's routes, and of the "L" in general, it opened a second entrance on Clinton Street in 1914.
The Metropolitan operated a vast network of routes across Chicago's west side, including three branches – the Douglas Park, Garfield Park, and Logan Square branches – diverging from its main line. It operated, with interruptions and financial issues, until it handed operations to Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) in 1911, and formally merged into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) in 1924. The "L" was taken over by the publicly-held Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947.
Substantial revisions to the lines that had been constructed by the Metropolitan had been planned since the 1930s; all told, they would replace the Logan Square branch with a subway to go directly downtown and substitute a rapid transit right of way in the median of the Congress Superhighway for the main line and Garfield Park branch. This was largely complete by the 1958 opening of the Congress Line, which includes a station on Clinton Street near the site of Canal.
Canal was located on the four-track main line and had two island platforms in common with other stations on the main line.