Halsted station (CTA Metropolitan Main Line)

Halsted was a rapid transit station located on the Metropolitan main line of the Chicago "L". It was in existence from 1895 to 1958, when the entire main line was replaced by the Congress Line located in the median of the nearby Eisenhower Expressway.[1] Halsted station in particular was replaced by UIC-Halsted on the Congress Line, which eventually became part of the Blue Line.

For other train stations located on Chicago's Halsted Street, see Halsted.
HALSTED
 
800W
400S
Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
A black-and-white, slightly-angled view of a one-story brick and terra cotta Beaux-Arts building with the words "Rapid Transit" in all-capital letters over its main entrance, while the sides of the building are being demolished. Above the building are elevated railroad tracks accompanied by an island platform to the viewer's left and a curved side platform to the viewer's right. Both platforms have hipped-roof canopies, with the side platform's canopy bulging out to the right along with the platform. The side platform also has noticeable lattice railings and gooseneck light fixtures. A truck passes by on the street in front of the building.
Halsted being demolished in July 1958, shortly after its closure. The southernmost platform and tracks had been demolished several years earlier, leaving only the island platform and one side platform.
General information
Location420 South Halsted Street
Chicago, Illinois[1]
Coordinates41.875916°N 87.647643°W / 41.875916; -87.647643
Owned byChicago Transit Authority
Line(s)Metropolitan main line
Platforms2 island platforms (before 1914)
1 island platform and 2 side platforms (after 1914)
Tracks4 tracks
Construction
Structure typeElevated
History
OpenedMay 6, 1895
ClosedJune 22, 1958
Rebuilt1914 (tracks and platforms)
1920s (station house)
Passengers
1957356,082 Decrease 21.99% (CTA)
Rank78 out of 133
Former services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Racine
toward Marshfield
 Metropolitan main line Canal
toward Loop
(LaSalle/Van Buren) or Wells Street Terminal
Location

History

The Metropolitan main line and Logan Square branch commenced operations on May 6, 1895, containing several stations including Halsted. The main line was replaced by the Congress Line in 1958, and it and its station were demolished accordingly.[1]

Station details

The main line had four tracks throughout its length. As originally designed, its stations had two island platforms, each between an outer track and an inner track, with the outer tracks bowing out to accommodate the platforms. This proved to produce a hazardous curve of the outer tracks, so the stations were reconfigured between 1898 and 1914. Halsted was changed to have an island platform between the inner tracks and two side platforms for each outer track. All platforms involved were wooden and built on a steel structure, and had hipped roof canopies of corrugated tin atop iron canopy frames; the original island platforms had the canopies cover approximately two-thirds of their original lengths, as well as their stairwells.[1]

Like other stations on the main line (but unlike the stations on the Metropolitan's Garfield Park and Logan Square branches, which had station houses with a semicircular elevation and bay windows), the original Halsted station house had a flat front, and was of brick construction with a sill and foundation of stone. Its interior had painted walls and ceiling with hardwood finishes, a bathroom and water heater, and a ticket agent's booth and newsstand. The station house was renovated and enlarged in the 1920s, and was changed to an off-white terra cotta design in the Beaux-Arts style by transit architect Arthur U. Gerber; this new station house included retail spaces next to the station entrance.[1]

Ridership

In its last full year of operation, 1957, Halsted served 356,082 passengers, a 21.99 percent decline from the 456,486 passengers served in 1956.[2] Its 1957 performance made it the 78th-busiest of the 133 "L" stations that were at least partially-staffed at the beginning of the year, whereas in 1956 it had been the 71st-busiest of 134 such stations. For the part of 1958 it was open, the main line's Halsted station served 117,333 passengers and was the 112th-busiest of 124 stations.[lower-alpha 1][7]

Notes
  1. Hamlin and Loomis stations on the Lake Street Elevated were both closed in 1956, while Isabella on the Evanston branch regained its agent in 1957.[3] Both the Kenwood and Stock Yards branches closed during 1957, as did Wood station on the Douglas branch;[4] the Congress Line opened in 1958 with the closure of the main line, and is not included in this count.[5] Station riderships in this era are somewhat complicated by the use of conductors on several "L" lines during off-peak hours instead of station agents, meaning that passengers would be counted for line ridership but not station ridership.[6]

References
  1. Garfield, Graham. "Halsted". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved October 1, 2022.
  2. CTA 1979, p. 15
  3. CTA 1979, p. 32
  4. CTA 1979, pp. 15 & 23
  5. CTA 1979, p. 23
  6. CTA 1979, p. 1
  7. CTA 1979, pp. 7, 15, 23, 31, & 39

Works cited
  • CTA Rail Entrance, Annual Traffic, 1900–1979 (Report). Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority. October 1, 1979.
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