Abandoned and Disused Stations of the CTA 'L' System

Like any rapid transit system its age, (the 'L' in some sections dates from as long ago as 1893!) Chicago Transit Authority's network of elevated and subway rapid transit rail lines have witnessed routes being demolished or built new, rehabbed or falling into disrepair, stations either closed, re-opened, renovated or demolished entirely, new stations added to replace older ones, new technologies for fare-collection altering station designs, the construction of freeways, large-scale urban development or re-development affecting rail lines, the effects of urban decline or rejuvenation, and the realities of funding problems and the effect of national and global economic trends on this major metropolitan rapid transit infrastructure. Along the way and throughout the years, many stations on the CTA's system have been closed, demolished, abandoned as-is or rebuilt, notably starting in 1949 with a massive round of station closures and demolitions, just after the Chicago Transit Authority was formed (in 1947) to take over and consolidate the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (the 'L' and subways) and the Chicago Surface Lines (streetcars and buses). Most of the stations closed were to improve train speeds and efficiencies- quite a few stations of the CRT era were two blocks apart! More station closings happened in 1973, when the CTA was in the midst of its first (of many) major budget crises. Stations in neighborhoods that had declined were shut, and stops that had low ridership in general were axed. This pattern happened again in the mid-80s, and again in the mid-90s, until the early 2000s, when ridership began to increase dramatically all over the system- new lines had been built and others completely re-built, causing station closures and re-openings. I have included most, but not all, stations of the CTA system that are currently either abandoned as-is, demolished with some evidence of their past existence, or sections of stations currently in-service that are disused and abandoned. Most of the abandoned pre-CTA stations are impossible to detect, but I have included a couple where they still exist. Station descriptions are between footage in the video, limited to their length by Windows Movie Maker.... Enjoy the history!