California is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Blue Line, on North California Avenue near West Fullerton Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood. From California, trains run every 2–7 minutes during rush-hour periods, and take 12 minutes to reach the Loop.^{[citation needed]} It is not to be confused with the California station on the Blue Line's Congress Branch, which permanently closed in 1973.

California   2800W 2300N
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	2211 North California Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60647
Coordinates	41°55′19″N 87°41′49″W
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	O'Hare Branch
Platforms	2 Side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Yes
History
Opened	May 25, 1895
Rebuilt	2014
Passengers
2020	511,205[1]  70% (CTA)
Rank	42 out of 143
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Logan Square toward O'Hare Blue Line Western toward Forest Park
Former services Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Logan Square Closed 1970 Terminus Logan Square branch Western toward Marshfield

California, the other two stations on the Milwaukee Elevated, and Forest Park are the only Blue Line stations that are not located in an expressway median, or underground. The Milwaukee Elevated stations are also the only stations on the Blue Line to have side platforms, as all of the subway and freeway stations on the line use island platforms.

History

California station opened on May 25, 1895, as part of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated's Logan Square branch. In the summer of 2008, a temporary entrance immediately to the north of the station house was utilized for two weeks in order to renovate the station house. After stripping the interior, and removing the joist-supported wooden floor, the former crawl space was filled with gravel and covered by a concrete slab, the surface of which was patterned to imitate cobblestone. The repositioned agent box and farecard vending machines substantially increased the pedestrian traffic efficiency through the station house.^{[citation needed]}

The station closed during September and October 2014 for major repairs, but the renovation plans did not include retrofitting the stop so that the elevated platform would be accessible to disabled passengers. The reopening ceremony on October 16 was attended by dignitaries including Rahm Emanuel and Dick Durbin.[2][3]

Bus connections

CTA

• 56 Milwaukee
• 74 Fullerton
• 94 California

Gallery

References

External links

• California (O'Hare Line) Station Page
• California Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View

This Illinois train station-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e