Granville (6200N/1200W)
Granville Avenue and Broadway, Edgewater

Service Notes:

	Red Line: Howard
	Accessible Station
	Owl Service

Quick Facts:

Address: 1119 W. Granville Avenue
Established: May 16, 1908
Original Line: Northwestern Elevated Railroad
Previous Names: North Edgewater

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: 1921, 1980
Status: In Use

History:

Looking south at the fare controls of Granville station in two different eras: as rebuilt in the 1920s, seen on August 18, 1971; and after the 1980 renovation, seen on March 12, 2002. Although the station was heavily modified in 1980, the basic shape of the interior remains. For a larger view of the above photo, click here. For a larger view of the below photo, click here. (Above photo from the Collection of the Chicago Transit Authority; below photo by Graham Garfield)

The Chicago City Council authorized the electrification of the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad's tracks from Graceland Avenue (Irving Park Road) to the city limits at Howard Avenue on July 1, 1907 to facilitate the extension of the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. By early 1922, a new elevated four track mainline was completed, allowing full express service to the city limits.

When the "L" began running over the CM&StP tracks, a small wood frame station house and high-level island platform was built to take the place of the original St. Paul station. It is likely that it was towards the end of the track elevation process that the next station was built, sometime in the early 1920s. (1921 seems a likely date, as this is when identical Argyle, as well as Loyola directly to the north were reconstructed as part of the elevation.) The station was a Prairie School structure, probably designed by architect Charles P. Rawson. It was constructed of concrete, brick and stone and is typical of a number of stations designed by Rawson (including Argyle ).

The stop was originally called North Edgewater for its neighborhood, but changed to Granville (the street where its located) by the mid-1920s.

Station Renovation, Accessibility

In the late 1970s, the CTA undertook a station modernization program in which they rebuilt or significantly renovated five stations around the system to modern standards and styles. The work tended to include either enlargement of the facilities, or renovations that resulted in improved circulation and capacity. These stations also represented the first modern CTA stations to be equipped with elevators and thus some of the first to be designed to accommodate customers with disabilities, aside from a couple at-grade stations rebuilt with ramps earlier in the 1970s. The CTA 1980 Historical Calendar described the station modernization program and its goals:

Featuring an open-plan design concept, the CTA is rebuilding five major rapid transit stations which will have escalators and elevators for the convenience particularly of the elderly and handicapped. The design provides maximum visibility, easy movement of people through fare control areas, and a high level of illumination. Under construction are a new terminal at Desplaines Avenue, Forest Park, for service in the Eisenhower Expressway, an enlarged station at 79th Street on the Dan Ryan expressway route, elevated stations at Loyola and Granville on the North (Howard) route, and an elevated station at Western Avenue on the Ravenswoodroute.

In early 1977, the CTA awarded the design contract for the new Granville station, as well as the new Loyola station, to the firm of Dubin, Dubin, Black and Moutoussamy for an amount not to exceed $202,369. In May 1978, the CTA awarded a contract for $1,119,440 for rebuilding the Granville station to the Ross, Lynn & Norman Construction Company of Skokie. The federally funded project included an elevator for use by "handicapped and elderly riders," a rarity at the time. The new station removed all of the architectural detail from the station house, replacing it with a simple tan brick front and utilitarian interior. The island platform has a concrete floor and a utilitarian white steel canopy. The new station was completed in 1980.

In early March 2002, Granville received new station name signs, though not in the form of replacements but in addition to the current station name signs. The new Current Graphic Standard station name signs were installed in addition to the existing signs that date from the station's reconstruction in 1980. The new signs are located on new tan steel poles and brackets mounted on the embankment wall between the tracks and the alleys adjacent to the solid-fill embankment of the North Side Main Line, thus placing them facing the platforms rather than on them. These new signs are similar to new ones installed at Sox-35th and 95th/Dan Ryan in November 2001.

Following complaints from community members and local aldermen Joe Moore at a CTA annual budget hearing, viaduct renewal was programmed for Granville and Morse, along with some modest station improvements at Morse. At each bridge, deteriorated concrete on the decking and abutments were to be replaced, the bridge deck was to be waterproofed and resealed, and the trackbed and trackwork over the bridge replaced.

Patching of the spalling concrete on both the Morse and Granville viaducts began in late September 2004 and viaduct work was completed at Granville in October 2004, with punchlist work completed in January 2005. The contractor was Kiewit-Western.

In 2006, the station name signs and column signs on the platform were replaced, with Current Graphic Standard signs replacing the KDR Standard graphics, and new entrance signs installed as part of a signage upgrade project on the Red Line. As part of this effort, the station also received granite compass roses inset into the sidewalk in front of the station entrance to assist customers leaving the station to navigate their way, and three-sided galvanized steel pylons in the station house and on the platform to display maps and station timetables.

The island platform at Granville, as rebuilt in 1980, looking south on March 12, 2002. The unadorned white steel columns, crossbeams, and arched canopy provide a clean and simple design. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

	granville-drwng2.jpg (68k) An architectural profile of the remodeled Granville station. The finished product looked almost exactly the same. The elevator, seen at right, was uncommon at the time, as were escalators in stations, seen tucked away on the left. Its interior and canopy architecture resembles Loyola, one stop north. (Drawing from CTA Transit News)
	granville01.jpg (152k) The front entrance to the station on the south side of Granville Avenue, looking east on March 12, 2002. In the 1980 renovation, the front facade was completely removed and a plain tan brick front with stainless steel doorway added. This facility is still in use today. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
	granville02.jpg (124k) Granville, like all stations on the North Side Main Line north of Wilson, had an auxiliary exit from the platform to the opposite side of the street from the main station entrance. Granville was no exception, though like most of the other stations it has since been closed and removed. This view, looking north across Granville Avenue on on March 12, 2002, shows the former location of the auxiliary exit stairs up to the platform. The brick facades also show the station's original exterior architectural design. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
	granville05.jpg (120k) Looking south on the Granville platform on March 12, 2002. Like many rebuilt stations, the windbreaks and signage were incorporated into the design rather than tacked on later. This is usually a worthwhile effort when the station opens, but can create problems down the road. For instance, the "Board Here / Pay on Train" sign is now superfluous, as there is no on-train fare collection any more, and the Granville station name sign needs to be replaced with a new design (see below). Removing these signs will be more difficult than normal, however, because of how they are mounted. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
	granville06.jpg (183k) Granville received new Current Graphic Standard station name signs in early March 2002, mounted on new brackets along the edge of the embankment wall, outside the tracks. This sign is outside the northbound express track (track 4), looking east on March 12, 2002. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
	ctaS-353.jpg (140k) Ex-4314 work motor S-353 is at Granville station -- six years before being rebuilt -- on August 7, 1974. Only one of the dual trolley poles is actually for drawing power: the second pole, over the motorman's cab, is a sleet scrapper. The scrapper and snow plow make S-353 a powerful winter-fighting unit! (Photo by Doug Grotjahn, Collection of Joe Testagrose)
	cta5012c.jpg (210k) The two-car 5000-series prototype unit 5011-12 is seen undergoing testing on Track 1 midday on October 20, 2009, as 5012 leads the train heading south past Granville station. (Photo by Noel Angelo Centeno)