Dodge (1900W/200N)
Dodge Street and Mulford Street, City of Evanston

Service Notes:

North Side Division, Skokie branch

Quick Facts:

Address: TBD
Established: March 28, 1925
Original Line: North Side Division, Niles Center branch
Previous Names: none
Skip-Stop Type: n/a
Rebuilt: n/a
Status: Demolished

History:

When the line that is now the Skokie Swift first operated as the Niles Center branch (1926-1948), there were a number of stops between the two terminals. They included Ridge, Asbury and Dodge in Evanston and Crawford, Kostner, Oakton and Main in Niles Center (Skokie).

Dodge station's entrance was located on the east side of the street, below the viaduct. Designed by Arthur U. Gerber, who also designed similar stations at Sheridan, South Boulevard, and Central among others, the station house combined elements of Doric and Beaux Arts designs, executed in Terra Cotta. Trademark Gerber details include the laurel-framed cartouches, pair of Greek Revival Doric columns, globed lights and the words "Rapid Transit" above the door in Terra Cotta. The interior was executed in smooth art marble with a spacious fare control area. On the street elevation, two retail spaces were provided on either side of the entrance. Inside, these flanked a corridor that led to the fare controls, which were located at the back of the building.

The platform was of the island variety between the two tracks. The platform had wood decking and a canopy with metal columns down the center line which split into gently-curving gull wing-shaped roof supports, supporting a wooden canopy roof. The stairs were sheltered by wooden enclosures.

The CTA^® stopped using the station when the line was replaced by buses in March 1948, and because the North Shore Line interurban (which shared the tracks from Dempster/Skokie to Howard) didn't use the station, the station was closed at that time. When the North Shore Line abandoned their Skokie Valley Route in 1963, Dodge's demolition wasn't included in the budget of the Skokie Swift's construction (though Main, Oakton, Kostner and East Prairie were), and the station was used until the mid- to late-1970s, housing an electrical supply store called "North Shore Electrical Supply". For years, the station stood boarded and abandoned in disrepair, the stairway sealed. Circa the late 1980s, the station was completely dismantled and the stairway filled with cement.

The only extant remnant of the Dodge station are the crossbeams and angles filling the space between the individual bridge spans that carry each track, which once supported the west end of the island platform. Seen looking west on April 12, 2006, the empty space between the track and underneath the structure east of Dodge Avenue in the foreground, which once housed the east half of the platform and station house, respectively, are also giveaways. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by William Davidson)

dodge01.jpg (28k) In 1928, a clearance test was conducted at the Dodge station. The North Shore and the St. Paul had agreed to interchange freight cars via the north side "L". The regular CRT freight run brought the freight cars from Buena Yard to Kostner where they were turned over to the North Shore. (Photo from the Phillip F. Cioffi Collection)

Thanks to J.J. Sedelmaier for the information on the station's commercial use.