Lawrence (4800N/1200W)
Lawrence Avenue and Broadway, Uptown

Service Notes:

	Red Line: Howard
	Owl Service

Quick Facts:

Address: 1117 W. Lawrence Avenue
Established: February 23, 1923
Original Line: Northwestern Elevated Railroad
Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: n/a
Status: In Use

History:

The Lawrence station is the first stop north of Wilson, the terminal of the Northwestern Elevated from 1900 until its extension north in 1908. 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 on July 1, 1907. Unlike Evanston, they did not require that the grade-level tracks be elevated, but they did prohibit the use of a third rail for safety's sake, necessitating the use of overhead trolley wire.

But, there was still no Lawrence station at this time. In the mid-1910s, the Northwestern began to elevate the tracks north of Wilson, but work was slow due to the city's refusal to close intersecting streets and the narrow right-of-way. In early 1916, trains were moved onto a temporary trestle, but construction of a permanent embankment had to wait until the end of World War I due to a materials shortage.

By early 1922, the new four track mainline was completed, allowing full express service to the city limits. On the evening of February 23, 1923, the new Lawrence Avenue station, constructed in conjunction with the track elevation, was opened for business. The station was built to serve the thriving entertainment district near by, including the Uptown movie theater, the Riviera theater and the famous, beautiful Aragon ballroom. The opening ceremony was attended by company officials, members of the local businessmen's association and the elevated's 40-piece band.

The ticket agent was all smiles as she accepted the ceremonial first fare at the Lawrence Avenue station's grand opening on the evening of February 27, 1923. Note the fine woodwork and attractive lamp shades on the lights, certainly a stark contrast to the "L" stations of today. For a larger view, click here. (Photo from the Chicago Transit Authority Collection)

Unlike the other stations built as part of the elevation between Wilson and Howard, Lawrence station was a Beaux-Arts station with Terra Cotta execution designed by company architect Arthur U. Gerber. The stations exterior design bore a strong resemblance to nearby Sheridan station and had many common elements shared with adjacent Wilson station, both which Gerber also designed. Trademark Gerber details included laurel-framed cartouches, a pair of Greek Revival Doric columns framing the entrance, globed lights and the words "Rapid Transit" above the door in terra cotta. The interior had smooth art marble and plaster walls and terrazzo floor with a spacious fare control area. Retail spaces flanked the front entrance on either side, resulting in a corridor leading from the front door to the fare control area. Two staircases led to the platform.

Although the station house different from the other stations of the elevation project, the platform was nearly identical. The island platform is between the middle two of four tracks (Tracks #2 and 3), which at the time served Howard- and Evanston-bound local trains and which now serves the Red Line. It has wood decking and a canopy with metal columns down the center line which split into gently-curving gull wing-shaped roof supports at a height of about 7 feet or so, supporting a wooden canopy roof. Windbreak partitions, with tongue-in-groove paneling and panels along the top, the center one of which was for station name signs, finished off the platforms, as built.

There were varied plans to renovate Lawrence, none of which were executed. By the late 20th century the station was falling into severe disrepair.

Lawrence occupies a spot where the elevated right-of-way transitioned from the 1900-vintage steel elevated structure to the 1920s-built solid-fill embankment. To the north of Lawrence is the embankment; to the south of Leland Avenue, a block (0.125 miles) south of Lawrence, is the steel elevated. In the block between Lawrence and Leland (where the station house was) was an odd transition where Tracks 1 and 2, the west half of the four-track line, was supported by a solid-fill embankment, while Tracks 3 and 4 were supported by a steel elevated structure. It is not clear why this one-block portion was built half-and-half, although Track 1 surely needed the solid-fill embankment because of the freight service that operated at the time of its construction. Whatever the case, the CTA^® decided to make this section uniform by replacing the Track 3 and 4 steel structure with an embankment, undertaking the work in 1995.

The work was undertaken over a series of weekends in Spring 1995. Temporary crossovers were installed at Argyle and Ainslie. Northbound Red Line trains were diverted over Track 2 from Sunnyside to Ainslie, while southbound trains used Track 1 from Argyle to Addison Interlocking. The new embankment was built by first building a retaining wall and filling the lower portion. Then, one span of the steel structure was removed, the filling was completed, and new tracks were built on the fill. The lower parts of the old steel bents remained inside the solid fill.

What does this have to do with Lawrence station? The rear of the Lawrence station house backed up against where the steel elevated structure supporting Tracks 3 and 4 ended and thus was right where this work was to be undertaken. Given the station house's poor condition, the CTA^® took the opportunity of the right-of-way work to demolish the Lawrence headhouse. The station was closed on March 18, 1995. The station house was removed in mid-1995, replaced by a temporary chainlink cage with a small wooden fare-collection shack. This "structure" is similar to one found at Wellington and those formerly at Indiana (until 2001) and Hoyne (until 2002). The platform was rehabbed a bit and the signage replaced with the gray-background Current Graphic Standard signs. It reopened at 0700 hours on August 13, 1995. The "temporary" chainlink fare control area is still in use a decade later.

The proposed Year 2000 CTA^® Budget said that Lawrence has "far exceeded its design life." The station was programmed to be reconstructed and "upon completion... will be fully ADA compliant." The CTA's^® 2002-2006 Capital Improvement Plan included a $137,311,898 project to reconstruct five rapid transit stations, including Lawrence. Planned funding would complete design efforts for Wilson and Lawrence stations. The 2003-2007 Capital Improvement Plan also included FY 2003-2005 funding for the new station construction. The Wilson and Lawrence projects were later seperated into distinct, individual design efforts, and while design on Wilson proceeded, to date design work has not yet been initiated on a Lawrence new station.

In 2006, the station name signs and column signs on the platform were replaced 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 fare control area for Lawrence station is seen looking south on September 29, 2005, occupying the east (left) half of the area under the tracks. This replaced the 1923 station house, removed due to its deteriorated condition. Note that Tracks 1 and 2 (those on the right) cross Lawrence on a seperate spann of different construction and a lower clearance than Tracks 3 and 4 (left). For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

	lawrence01.jpg (179k) The Lawrence platform is seen looking north from the south end of the island platform on September 29. 2005. The gullwing canopy is typical of those built in the early 1920s between Lawrence and Howard stations. The top of the marquee of the famous adjacent Aragon Ballroom is visible on the right. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
	lawrence02.jpg (42k) Standard post-1939 CRT livery is demonstrated on lead car 1743. In this excellent action photo, taken in June 1957, newly-repainted 1906 Jewitt car 1743 heads up a seven car Evanston Express passing Lawrence on track 1 of the north-south route. The other six cars have the same color scheme, but are weathered and faded. As George Krambles notes, "a lack of ready cash precluded such luxuries as paint and contributed to the rundown of property." The overhead wires are used by freight-carrying "L" trains. (Photo from the Central Electric Railfans' Association Collection)
	lawrence06.jpg (207k) The Lawrence island platform, looking south on September 29. 2005. The platform looks largely as it did when it opened in 1923, save for the new Current Graphic Standard signage, added in 1995. (Photo by Graham Garfield)