Division station (CTA Logan Square branch)
DIVISION 1200N 1700W | |||||||||||
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Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station | |||||||||||
General information | |||||||||||
Location | West Division Street Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°54′12″N 87°40′14″W / 41.9032°N 87.6705°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 | 353,570 17.64% (CTA) | ||||||||||
Rank | 128 out of 223 | ||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||
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Location | |||||||||||
Division was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L"'s Logan Square branch, one of several branches of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad. Located on Division Street, 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. With some interruptions and financial issues, it operated these lines until 1911, when it handed operations to
Division 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 two streetcar routes, one local and one express; the "L" and express streetcar had
History
The
The Metropolitan's lines were originally operated by the West Side Construction Company, which had been responsible for constructing them, and would be transferred to the Metropolitan on October 6, 1896.
Closure and demolition
Plans for Chicago to have a subway system to relieve the severe congestion of, if not replace, its elevated trackage dated back to the early 20th century, but the city lagged in building subways.[14] Chicago petitioned the Public Works Administration (PWA) for construction funds for a subway under State Street in 1937.[15] Originally included in the petition was a proposal for two downtown east-west streetcar tunnels.[16] Harold L. Ickes, the administrator of the PWA and a longtime Chicagoan, vetoed the streetcar tunnel plan and insisted instead on a second subway that would go under Dearborn Street and Milwaukee Avenue, which would provide a more direct route from Logan Square to downtown.[16] Although this idea engendered considerable local opposition, especially from mayor Edward Joseph Kelly, Ickes's influence in the federal government led to the Dearborn plan being adopted in 1938.[16]
The subway's approval did not immediately imply the end of the old Logan Square branch. Damen Tower, serving the Humboldt Park branch divergence, was rebuilt with the expectation that it also would switch trains between the subway and the elevated, in the same manner as the State Street subway supplementing the earlier elevated North Side main line,[17] and as late as 1949 commuters were promised such a setup that would have preserved the old Logan Square trackage.[18] However, the CTA had no interest in operating either the old Logan Square elevated or the Humboldt Park branch; the new Damen Tower would never be installed with switching equipment, and the Logan Square branch south of Damen would be closed after the subway opened.[17]
World War II interrupted the construction of the subway; although the federal government allowed the continued construction of the State Street subway, it did not do so for the Dearborn subway despite its being 82 percent complete in 1942.[19] After the war ended, work resumed on the Dearborn subway and it opened at the midnight beginning Sunday, February 25, 1951.[19] The subway was predicted to reduce the travel time between Logan Square and downtown from 28 minutes to 15.[19] Despite complaints from riders no longer given a direct trip to the Near West Side,[20][21] the new subway had over 60 percent higher ridership than the old Logan Square branch by the end of the year.[22] The subway contains a station of its own on Division Street.[19]
The old Logan Square trackage south of its entrance to the subway became known as the
Accidents and incidents
On January 9, 1903, Mary Burke, the station agent on duty, was robbed of $35 ($1,100 in 2021) by three men. Shortly thereafter, a former bill poster for the Metropolitan was arrested in connection with the robbery and confessed to it, but refused to name his accomplices.[26]
Station details
Division had two wooden
Operations and connections
As originally opened, the Metropolitan's trains ran every six minutes between 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., and every ten minutes during the night; the average speed was 16 mph (26 km/h).
The fare across the "L" was legally mandated to be a nickel (5 cents, $1.37 in 2021) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This fare continued until temporarily increased by a cent to $0.06 ($1.27 in 2021) in 1917 before stabilizing to a dime (10 cents, $1.35 in 2021) in 1920.[29] Starting in 1922, fares were usually marketed in packs of three for 25 cents, or 8+1⁄3 cents per ride ($1.35 in 2021), but individual fares remained 10 cents each.[30] At the same time, a weekly pass was introduced, the first in a major American city, for $1.25 ($20.24 in 2021) for rides outside of Evanston and Wilmette.[30] Fare control was usually by a station agent posted 24 hours a day, but conductors were used instead during night and off-peak hours from 1931 to 1934, and during 1936 and 1937.[31]
When the Division station opened, Division Street had had a downtown-bound horse car service between Mozart Street and
Ridership
In 1948, the last year records are available, Division served 353,570 passengers, a 17.64 percent decrease from the 429,315 riders of 1947.[36]
In 1948, it was the 128th-most ridden of the 223 stations on the "L" at the beginning of the year that recorded ridership; in 1947, it had been the 115th-most ridden of 222 such stations.[b][39]
Notes
- ^ a b Technically, the Logan Square branch started after Robey and was, like the Humboldt Park branch, a divergence from what was formally known as the "Northwest branch".[4] However, as early as 1898, even the Metropolitan itself was referring to the Northwest branch as part of the "Logan Square branch".[5]
- ^ Several stations on the Niles Center and Westchester branches did not collect ridership statistics.[37] Several stations closed on the "L" during 1948.[38] Exchange station on the Stock Yards branch discontinued statistics after 1946, but adjacent Racine station began collecting them in 1948.[36]
References
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 123
- ^ 1895 Review, p. 263
- ^ a b c d 1895 Review, p. 264
- ^ a b c Moffat 1995, p. 130
- ^ "The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad". Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad. 1898. Retrieved October 23, 2022.
- ^ a b c d "New "L" Road Opens". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 54, no. 127. May 7, 1895. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Moffat 1995, p. 134
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 139
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 237
- ^ Moffat 1995, pp. 240–242
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 261
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 260
- ^ Chicago Transit Authority (October 1, 1947). "Today – they're all yours!". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 106, no. 235. p. 8. Retrieved October 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Borzo 2007, p. 91
- ^ Borzo 2007, p. 92
- ^ a b c "Entries in Loop at Every Block; Begin Work Dec. 15". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 97, no. 245. October 13, 1938. pp. 1–2. Retrieved November 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Garfield, Graham. "Damen Tower". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
- ^ "Work Speeds on Building New Subway". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 108, no. 34. August 21, 1949. pp. 3–1. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Buck, Thomas (February 18, 1951). "1st Trains Run in New Subway Saturday Night". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 110, no. 7, Part 1. p. 21. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Nedella, Carola (March 5, 1951). "Results of Eliminating the Logan Square "L"". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 110, no. 62. pp. 1–20. Retrieved November 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Serpico, Lillian (May 15, 1951). "Inconvenienced Riders". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 110, no. 116. pp. 1–14. Retrieved November 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ CTA 1951, p. 1
- ^ a b Garfield, Graham. "Paulina Connector". Chicago-L.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ a b Garfield, Graham. "Division". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ "Demolish 70-Year-Old 'L'". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 118, no. 306. November 1, 1964. p. 10–9. Retrieved October 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cashier of "L" Station Held up in Afternoon". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 62, no. 10. January 10, 1903. p. 1. Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ 1895 Review, p. 268
- ^ Moffat 1995, p. 115
- ^ Moffat 1995, pp. 254–255
- ^ a b Moffat 1995, p. 255
- ^ CTA 1979, p. 13
- ^ a b c d e Lind 1974, p. 255
- ^ a b Lind 1974, p. 254
- ^ Lind 1974, p. 202
- ^ Lind 1974, p. 201
- ^ a b CTA 1979, p. 14
- ^ CTA 1979, pp. 22 & 38
- ^ Chicago Transit Authority (April 5, 1948). "New Lake Street All-Express "L" Service". Chicago Tribune. Vol. 107, no. 82. p. 7. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ CTA 1979, pp. 6, 14, 22, 30, & 38
Works cited
- "The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad of Chicago". The Street Railway 1895 Review. 5: 263–274. January 15, 1895.
- Borzo, Greg (2007). The Chicago "L". Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. ISBN 9780738551005– via Google Books.
- Chicago Transit Authority (1951). Seventh Annual Report of Chicago Transit Board for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 1951 – via Archive.org.
- Chicago Transit Board (1954). Tenth Annual Report for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 1954 – via Archive.org.
- Public Information Department (1967). Congress Rapid Transit. Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority – via Archive.org.
- CTA Rail Entrance, Annual Traffic, 1900–1979 (Report). Chicago: Chicago Transit Authority. October 1, 1979.
- Lind, Alan R. (1974). Chicago Surface Lines: An Illustrated History. Park Forest, Illinois: Transport History Press.
- Moffat, Bruce G. (1995). The "L": The Development of Chicago's Rapid Transit System, 1888–1932. Chicago: Central Electric Railfans' Association. ISBN 0-915348-30-6.