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Morgan (1000W/200N)
Morgan Street and Lake Street, Near West Side

Service Notes:

Green Line: Lake

Pink Line: Lake

Quick Facts:

Address: TBD
Established: November 6, 1893
Original Line: Lake Street Elevated Railroad
Previous Names: none
Skip-Stop Type: n/a
Rebuilt: n/a (1996 - proposed, not built)
Status: Under Construction

History:

Morgan station was typical of those built in 1892-93 for the Lake Street Elevated Railroad -- similar to stations at Ashland, Homan and Sacramento, among many others -- designed by its engineering staff and built by the Lloyd and Penning ton Company.

The station had twin station houses and side platforms for boarding inbound and outbound trains. The station houses are designed in a Queen Anne style with a Victorian Gothic influence. The station houses had gabled roofs with two windowless gabled dormers each. Each roof was topped with a unique square cupola with a diamond pattern and a steeply hipped roof with a small gabled dormer in each of the four sides. These structures represent a unique attempt to apply the Queen Anne architectural style.

The station had side platforms, covered by tin-covered peaked-roof canopies supported by a row of steel center posts. The posts had decorative elements cast into them, most notably in the top angle bracket that supported the canopy braces. The Lake Street Elevated stations also originally had elaborate railings on the platforms with decorative scroll metalwork.

The station was closed in 1948 when the CTA revamped service on the Lake Street Line -- the first of a series of line-by-line service overhauls -- by closing 10 little-used stations and implementing A/B skip-stop service to speed up trains on the route. The station was subsequently demolished.

 

New Morgan Station Planned

When the Green Line was closed for renovation in 1994-96, a plan was developed to close Halsted station two blocks east permanently and build a new station at Morgan to service the redeveloping Fulton Market district. A station nearly identical to the rebuilt Laramie station was developed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM). Halsted station closed in 1994 at the outset of the renovation (which included a full closure of the Green Line for two years), but during the closure the plans to build the Morgan station were put on hold due to budget limitations for the project and a desire to shift resources to other aspects of the project, such as adding a station at Laramie where none was originally planned to be rebuilt. Periodic discussions among the city, CTA, and community of reestablishing a station at Morgan continued for many years.

A 2002 study by the Chicago Department of Transportation examined daily boarding at potential new "in-fill" stations on the Lake Street and South Side main line Green Line branches, including Morgan on the Lake Street branch. The feasibility study found good potential for ridership for stations at both Western and Morgan stop on the Green Line, but CDOT -- who is managing the study, design, and construction of the station -- decided to move forward with the Morgan station based on a number of factors. CDOT spokesman Brian Steele cited that since the study, which used 2000 census figures, the area around the Morgan station has seen significant residential and commercial growth, much more than the area around Western. The 2006 addition of Pink Line service through the corridor that would be served by a Morgan station, strong community and business support, and availability of TIF dollars were also factors that influenced the decision to build at Morgan as opposed to other locations.1

Design for the Morgan station was carried out by TranSystems. The new station will have two entrances -- one on each side of Lake Street -- bike racks, a concession stand, customer assistance kiosks, security cameras, and a six-car length translucent canopy, according to the West Loop Community Organization (WLCO)2. The station will have dual elevator towers and an overhead transfer bridge, according to artistic renderings of the station released by CDOT. The project's cost is $38 million. The city has secured $8 million in federal funds through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality program, and the rest will come from the Kinzie Industrial Tax Increment Financing District3.

The new station is expected to serve several area businesses, institutions, and residents, including Harpo Studios, where the Oprah Winfrey Show is taped and which has audiences of up to 1,000 people a day in addition to many full- and part-time employees; the Haymarket Center social service agency, with 500 employees and 18,000 clients; the many high-end restaurants, bars, and lofts in the area; and the industries and businesses in the Fulton industrial corridor.

 

Station Construction

Advance work at the site of the future station began in spring 2010, including the relocation of a water main. Preliminary work on the station itself began in Summer 2010. This work largely consisted of surveying, utility work, and tie replacement at the future station site.

Ground was broken for the new Morgan station on August 26, 2010. At the news conference, attended by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, CTA President Richard L. Rodriguez, and other officials, Daley said construction of the station would provide 250 construction-related jobs, and cited the City's and CTA's commitment of funds to build the new station -- the first new stop added to the "L" system in nearly 10 years -- as an example of their commitment to continued capital investment in the mass transit system.

City officials expect the Morgan station will open in mid-20124.

 

Notes:

1. "A Green Line station at Morgan", Chicago Journal, 3 December 2008.
2. Ibid.
3. Mayor Daley Reiterates City's Committment To Investing In Transit Infrastructure, City of Chicago press release, August 25, 2010.
4. Ibid.