Congress Terminal

CONGRESS TERMINAL
 
500S
25E
Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
A train station is depicted in a newspaper sketch, with a humped canopy and an implied track (this is from street view) to the viewer's right. There is no station house present, as that was served by an adjacent building, here to the viewer's left of the platform.
The Congress Street Terminal in 1892
General information
LocationCongress Parkway and Holden Court
Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′33″N 87°37′36″W / 41.8757°N 87.6268°W / 41.8757; -87.6268
Owned byChicago Transit Authority
Line(s)South Side Elevated
Platforms1 Side platform
Tracks1 track
Construction
Structure typeElevated
History
OpenedJune 6, 1892[1]
ClosedAugust 1, 1949 (CTA)
January 21, 1963 (CNS&M)
Former services
Preceding station Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad Following station
Terminus North Shore Line Roosevelt Road
Terminus
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Terminus South Side Elevated Roosevelt
toward 58th
Location
Map

Congress Terminal was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", serving its South Side Elevated. It was located at Congress Parkway over Holden Court.[2] The terminal opened in 1892 as the original northern terminus of the Elevated; when the Loop was constructed in 1897, the terminal closed and was replaced by the Elevated's Congress/Wabash station about 200 feet (61 m) away. The Loop's congestion issues led to the terminal's reopening in 1902, renamed Old Congress to distinguish it from the Congress/Wabash station.

Congress Terminal was built by the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad and was one of Chicago's original 'L' stations. On August 1, 1949, the CTA stopped service to the terminal as part of the service revision introducing A-B Skip-Stop service to the south side.[3] The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad continued to use the station as a baggage terminal until the line quit in 1963.

  1. ^ "Running on the "L."". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 51, no. 159. June 7, 1892. p. 9. Retrieved November 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Garfield, Graham. "Congress Terminal". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved December 9, 2008.
  3. ^ "Begin Skip-Stop Runs Monday on North, South 'L'". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 108, no. 179. July 29, 1949. p. A9. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.