California station (CTA Congress Line)

California

2800W
430S

Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location| 430 South California Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60612
Coordinates| 41°52′31″N 87°41′47″W﻿ / ﻿41.8754°N 87.6964°W﻿ / 41.8754; -87.6964
Owned by| Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)| Congress Branch
Platforms| 1 island platform
Tracks| 2
History
Opened| June 22, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-06-22)
Closed| September 2, 1973; 51 years ago (1973-09-02)
Former services
| Preceding station  | Chicago "L" | Following station

|
|

Kedzie

toward Des Plaines

|  | Congress branch |  | Western

toward Jefferson Park

as an elevated station (pre-1953)
Sacramento

toward Des Plaines

|  | Garfield Park branch |  | Western

toward Marshfield

Track layout

Legend

|  |  |

|  |

| West–Northwest

to Jefferson Park

|  |

|  | California Ave.
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |
|  |

|  |

I-90 (now  I-290)[1]

|  |

|  |

| (Eisenhower Expy.)

|  |

|  | Sacramento Blvd.
|  |

|  |

| West–Northwest

to Des Plaines

|  |  |  |  |  |

Location

California is an abandoned rapid transit station in the East Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is located in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway, The station served the Chicago Transit Authority's Congress Line, which is now part of the Blue Line. California opened on June 22, 1958, and closed on September 2, 1973, as part of a group of budget-related CTA station closings.[2][3]

## History

[edit]

### Elevated station

[edit]

The original California station opened in 1895 along with several other stations on the Garfield Park branch of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated. When skip-stop service was introduced on the branch in December 9, 1951, California station was designated a B station, meaning only B trains stop at this station.[4] The elevated station closed in 1953 as trains on the branch were rerouted to the temporary tracks along Van Buren Street. The temporary trackage was built to accommodate the construction of the Congress Expressway and a new branch line along the median.[5]

### Expressway-median station

[edit]

The new California station opened on June 22, 1958, on the newly-built Congress branch. Unlike its elevated predecessor, the station was designated an A station, meaning A trains stop at this station. In fact, all stations on the branch west of Racine station were designated A stations; B trains would travel along the Douglas branch (part of today's Pink Line).[6] The station closed on September 2, 1973, as part of a systemwide service reduction.[3][2]

## Image Gallery

[edit]

* Station platform

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Illinois Department of Transportation (1973). Illinois Highway Map (Map). [1:772,500]. Springfield: Illinois Department of Transportation - via Illinois Digital Archives.
2. ^ a b Garfield, Graham. "California". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved May 9, 2009.
3. ^ a b Buck, Thomas (September 2, 1973). "CTA Shutting Down 7 Rapid Transit Stations Today". Chicago Tribune. p. 5.
4. ^ "CTA revises Garfield, Douglas, institutes A-B service". Chicago Tribune. December 1, 1951. p. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
5. ^ "Chicago L.org: Stations - California". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
6. ^ CTA Route Map (Map). Chicago Transit Authority. October 1970. Retrieved December 8, 2023.

## External links

[edit]

* Boarded up entrance to California CTA Congress Line Station from Google Maps Street View

* v
* t
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Current and former Chicago "L" stations

Congress branch|

* UIC–Halsted
* Racine
* Illinois Medical District
* Western
* California
* Kedzie–Homan
* Pulaski
* Kostner
* Cicero
* Central
* Austin
* Oak Park
* Harlem
* Forest Park

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