CHICAGO 800N 1700W | |||||||||||
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| Former Chicago "L" rapid transit station | |||||||||||
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Chicago-Metropolitan-Station.png) Typical station on the Metropolitan's double-tracked lines, of which Chicago was an example | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Coordinates | 41°53′46″N 87°40′13″W / 41.89611°N 87.67028°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Chicago Transit Authority (1947–1951) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924–1947) See text before 1924 | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Logan Square branch | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 side platforms | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | Elevated | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | May 6, 1895 | ||||||||||
| Closed | February 25, 1951 | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 1948 | 387,603  15.93% (CTA) | ||||||||||
| Rank | 115 out of 223 | ||||||||||
| Former services | |||||||||||
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Chicago was a rapid transit station on the Logan Square branch of the Chicago "L", one of the several branches of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, between 1895 and 1951. Located on Chicago Avenue, the station was constructed by the Metropolitan in the early 1890s and began service on May 6, 1895.
The Metropolitan, one of four companies that would build what became the Chicago "L", had many branches to serve Chicago's west side, including the Logan Square branch on which Chicago lay. With some interruptions and financial issues, it operated these lines until 1911, when it handed operations to the Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) trust, 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.
A subway had been planned since the late 1930s to reach downtown in a more direct way than the portion of the Logan Square branch where Chicago was located. This subway was originally intended to supplement the old elevated Logan Square branch, but the CTA sought to simplify its routing and saw no need for the old branch's continued existence. The subway opened on February 25, 1951, with a station of its own on Chicago Avenue; the old Chicago station was then closed along with the others on the affected part of the branch. The station and its trackage remained in non-revenue service until it was demolished and the property sold off in 1964. A commercial building built by the CRT across the street from the station survives as of 2023[update], however, and has a low profile that marks where the "L" once passed above it.
Chicago was typical of the Metropolitan's stations, with two wooden side platforms and a brick station house at street level. For most of its existence it connected with a streetcar route that reached Lake Shore Drive; both the "L" and streetcar had owl service.