The Cermak (North-South) station, looking east on Cermak Road. The mezzanine ended up being over the street's eastbound lanes because it was widened after the station's construction. Click here to see a larger view. (Photo from the Collection of Michael Roegner)

Cermak (2200S/1E)
Cermak Road and Wabash Avenue, Near South Side

Service Notes:

North-South Route: Englewood-Jackson Park

Quick Facts:

Address: TBD
Established: June 6, 1892
Original Line: South Side Rapid Transit
Previous Names: 22nd Street

Skip-Stop Type:

Station
Rebuilt: 1907
Status: Demolished

History:

22nd Street was one of the original ten stations of Chicago's first "L" line, the South Side Rapid Transit. The original station building was a grade-level structure built in 1892, though it's not entirely certain what its design looked like. In 1907, as part of an ordinance to allow the South Side Line to install a third track for express service, all stations north of 43rd Street, including this one, were required to replace their grade-level facilities with mezzanine-level stations, clearing the alley beneath the tracks. This required relocation of the northbound platforms between 18th and 39th Streets and raising of the structure (with grades of up to 1.44% at some stations to compensate for the change in elevation) to gain sufficient clearance for the mezzanine facilities.

Unlike most other mezzanine stations built in 1907, Cermak's was over the street instead of the alley beneath the tracks. This wasn't always so; its unusual location was the result of the widening of Cermak Road after the station's reconstruction. The facility was a fairly simple structure, constructed of sheet metal with simple ornamentation. Stairs, originally descending north toward the street, were relocated behind the station after the street was widened.

In the 1949 North-South Route service revision, Cermak became a B station due to its relatively low number of users. But over its life, the Cermak station's usage has fluctuated as its importance changed. Normally, it was an average station serving a residential neighborhood and modest commercial strip. But in 1933, to improve its share of traffic destined for the Century of Progress Worlds Fair being held in Burnham Park, the Chicago Rapid Transit Company got temporary permits to run shuttle buses from Cermak and State/Van Buren to the Exposition, making Cermak a highly-patronized transfer point. In 1960, the CTA embarked on a project to provide an off-street bus-rapid transit passenger interchange at the station to expedite the heavy flow of traffic to the new McCormick Place convention center. Despite these periodic increases in use, the station's patronage still dropped, probably affected by the Cermak-Chinatown station built three blocks away on the Dan Ryan Line in 1969.

The station closed September 9, 1977, after determined efforts on the part of the CTA® to discourage its use. With Cermak's closure, the gap between stations on the North-South Line became over 2 1/2 miles, between Roosevelt and Tech-35th.

The CTA® officially acknowledged the need for an additional station on the Green Linen between Roosevelt and 35th-Bronzeville-IIT in February 2002.

"Relocating a station there is one of many improvements we're evaluating throughout the system," CTA® spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said. "We don't have a cost to reopen one... We're in the midst of a feasibility study with the city."

Another location for an intermediate stop that has been discussed is 18th Street, which could serve the South Loop housing, Soldier Field, and the Prairie Avenue Historic District, and which has a crosstown bus line, like Cermak Road.

When a Cermak stop might return isn't clear, officials have said. The project is not included in the CTA's® five-year capital plan.

The CRT buses used to move passengers between the Century of Progress and the "L" are seen stored adjacent to the Cermak station in August 1934. (Photo from the Collection of George Krambles)