Chicago (Chicago/Franklin in station announcements) is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown and Purple Lines. Located in the Near North Side neighborhood at 300 W Chicago Avenue at West Chicago Avenue and North Franklin Street in Chicago, Illinois (directional coordinates 800 North, 300 West), the station opened in 1900 as part of the original series of stations on the Northwestern Elevated. A high density of art galleries and several schools is in the vicinity of the station, including the Moody Bible Institute.

Chicago   800N 300W
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	300 West Chicago Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60610
Coordinates	41.896467°N 87.635833°W / 41.896467; -87.635833
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	North Side Main Line
Platforms	2 Side platforms
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	May 31, 1900[1]
Rebuilt	2006–08
Passengers
2020	666,784[2]  66.5%
Rank	25 out of 143
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Sedgwick toward Kimball Brown Line Merchandise Mart toward Loop (Washington/Wells) Sedgwick toward Linden Purple Line Express Merchandise Mart toward Loop (Clark/Lake)
Former services Preceding station Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad Following station Belmont Avenue toward Milwaukee North Shore Line Grand Avenue toward Roosevelt Road Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Oak Closed 1949 toward Howard North Side main line Grand Closed 1970 toward Loop (Randolph/Wells) or North Water Terminal Oak Closed 1949 toward Linden Northwestern Elevated Railroad Kinzie Closed 1921 toward Loop (Randolph/Wells) or North Water Terminal
Track layout Legend Brown and Purple Express north to Kimball and Linden Chicago Ave. Superior St. Brown and Purple Express south to the Loop
Location
Chicago station Location within Near North Side, Chicago

Chicago/Franklin serves the Brown Line, but Purple Line Express trains also stop at the station during weekday rush hours.

Station layout

The original station house was on the north side of Chicago Avenue. Beyond the turnstiles were staircases which led up to the two long side platforms. The Chicago platforms were unusually long, starting just north of Chicago Avenue and curving along the track before straightening out just south of Chicago Avenue. Early in the station's history, it not only served 'L' trains but North Shore Line interurbans as well, requiring longer platforms which could berth eight car trains. The number of tracks also decreased from four to two just north of Chicago, meaning the two track, two side platform station had to provide the same capacity as a four track, two island platform station like Belmont (Red/Brown/Purple) or Fullerton. In the decades prior to the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, the northern, curved parts of the platforms were blocked off to passenger use; trains stopped south of Chicago Avenue along the straighter portion of the track which was long enough for eight-car trains. There were exit-only turnstiles to Superior Street on the south end of both platforms, along with an auxiliary exit to the south side of Chicago Avenue on the southbound platform.

Chicago/Franklin received major renovations as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. The station houses were constructed above street level on the south side of Chicago Avenue alongside each platform. The original, historic station house will be restored and used for support systems. The exits to Superior Street have been rebuilt and reconfigured: each exit now has multiple entrance/exit turnstiles and wider staircases leading down to Superior Street. The canopies were refurbished and moved south, over the operational part of the platform. Additionally, with the installation of elevators at each station house, the station is now ADA compliant.[3]

Bus connections

CTA

• 37 Sedgwick (Weekdays Only)
• 66 Chicago (Owl Service)

See also

• Chicago/State
• Chicago/Milwaukee

References

External links

• Chicago/Franklin station at Countdown to a New Brown - official CTA site
• Chicago/Franklin station page at Chicago-'L'.org
• Train schedule (PDF) at CTA official site
• Chicago Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Superior Street entrance from Google Maps Street View