Paulina (1700W/3400N)
Paulina, Roscoe and Lincoln Avenues, Lakeview

Service Notes:

Brown Line: Ravenswood

Quick Facts:

Address: 3411 N. Paulina Avenue
Established: May 18, 1907
Original Line: Northwestern Elevated Railroad, Ravenswood branch
Other Names: Paulina & Lincoln (on station signage)

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: 2008-09 (projected)
Status: Closed for Renovation

History:

Paulina opened with the initial construction of the Ravenswood branch of the Northwestern Elevated, which was placed into service May 18, 1907. The station was designed in 1905-06 by the Northwestern Elevated's Engineering Office and overseen by Chief Engineer C.M. Mock and Consulting Engineer Charles Weston. The station was built by the Angus Brothers construction company.

An all-stop Ravenswood train of the first version 6000-series, stops at the Paulina station. Note the original shepherd's crook lights and old-style enamel signs calling the station "Lincoln-Paulina 1700W 3400N" (as opposed to the current "Paulina 1700W 3400N"). For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Joe Testagrose)

The station house measured approximately 25 feet by 25 feet -- a modest size and scale, relating to its role as a modest neighborhood station -- and, when viewed in plan layout, was shaped like a bow-tie. Passengers entered through the front doors and could exit through the building as well, but ancillary exits were also available along the sides of the building's exterior. The building narrowed in the middle to provide space for an exit-only rotogate on each side of the exterior, which passengers could exit through without entering the building. The inclusion of such egress was a result of experience with earlier stations, at which circulation could become congested when passengers tried to enter and exit through the same confined space simultaneously. In later years, the south rotogate was removed and that side passage closed. The north rotogate and side passage remained in use until the station was demolished and rebuilt.

The building's exterior was constructed of dark red brick and had a fairly simple design. The foundation was built of stone and concrete. The exterior walls were largely unadorned, except for simple ornamentation around the cornice, belt rail, and in the hood over the front entrance, all of which were executed in the same brick as the rest of the exterior. The doors originally had multi-pane windows.

The interior of the station was similarly modest. The interior walls were clad in glazed brick and had paving brick flooring. A large, bracketed, heavy wood beam ran across the width of the interior in the center, relating a Craftsman influence to the simple design. As built, there were two open areas on either side of the doors at the front for circulation and concessions. The interior then narrowed into the fare control array (due to the aforementioned rotogates along the exterior), which originally consisted of an agent's booth in the center flanked by turnstiles on one side and a heating stove on the other. The original ticket agent's booth was removed in the mid-1990s when the electronic farecard turnstiles were installed, replaced by a new booth on the west wall.

After exiting through the station house's rear doors, passengers walked down an enclosed passageway to access the stairs to the platforms. The passageway featured full-height grillework consisting of bars arranged in a geometric Craftsman pattern punctuated by ornamental cast iron rosettes and an arched galvanized iron roof. Originally, there was a full-height grille down the center of the passageway, meaning passengers had to exit through a specific rear door to access their desired platform, or they would have to reenter the station house to switch to the other side. Most of the center panels were later removed to allow access to either platform from the passageway. The decorative grillework was carried up the stairways to the platforms.

Paulina featured dual side platforms, constructed of a wood deck on a steel frame. The platforms featured canopies in the center, covering the stairs from street-level. The canopies, which were typical of the 1907 Ravenswood branch stations, featured a gently arched roof with curved support columns and latticed framing. The platform railings consisted of cast iron posts supporting thin metal bars and ornamental sunflower rosettes in a geometric design alternating with flat panels, topped with an oak handrail. The canopy design would be reused first on the Chicago & Oak Park Elevated (also owned by Charles Yerkes) before becoming the standard for the "L" under the Chicago Elevated Railroads and Chicago Rapid Transit. The railing design was also reused elsewhere on the system, most notably at Clinton/Lake where it was duplicated almost exactly.

The station was closed September 2, 1973 as part of a massive wave of economy station closings by the CTA^®. Two days later, its neighbor to the north, Addison, became an A station to rebalance the skip-stop pattern. Paulina, however, was reopened just a month later on October 17, probably due to political pressure. It reopened as an A station, creating an odd stopping pattern of two such stations in a row, but perhaps as a compromise to the CTA's^® need for cost savings, it was only open Monday-Friday 0630-1830 hours only. This continued for 14 years until November 2, 1987, when trains began to stop on weekday evening to discharge passengers. Shortly thereafter, on November 29th, the station reopened for all hours that the Ravenswood Line was in service.

CTA^® Chairman Valerie B. Jarrett and Alderman Theodore Matlak (32nd) joined representatives from Project LEAP February 9, 2001 at the Paulina station to welcome the group into the CTA's^® Adopt-A-Station program. As part of its agreement with the CTA^®, Project Leap decorated the station by installing four, 4' x 8' murals created by students that depict an educational theme.

Project LEAP, the Lakeview Education and Arts Partnership, is a collaborative effort between students at Audubon, Blaine & Ravenswood Elementary Schools and Lake View High School, and the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce, Sulzer Regional Library, Beacon Street Gallery & Theatre and Northeastern Illinois University's Chicago Teachers' Center.

Paulina station retained much of its original material until it was renovated in 2008-09. In addition to the original station house and canopies, a great deal of the original platform railings were also intact. The platform extensions had simple, modern metal railings. The platform also utilized bus shelters as windbreaks in later years.

Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project

By 2004, ridership had exploded on the Brown Line -- an 79% increase since 1979 and a 27% increase since 1998 -- such that during peak periods many trains were at crush-loaded, resulting in commuters left standing on platforms unable to board the loaded trains, sometimes waiting as one or two trains passed before they were physically able to board. The problem in large part was that all Brown Line stations could only accommodate six-car trains (with the exception of Merchandise Mart, Chicago, Fullerton and Belmont, which could already hold eight-car trains), which, along with the limitations of the cab signal system, limited the line's capacity.

As a result, the CTA^® decided to plan for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, the largest capital improvement project undertaken by the CTA^® at the time (surpassing even the Douglas Renovation Project, which was the largest up to that point). The main objectives of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project are to expand the line's overall ridership capacity by lengthening station platforms to accommodate eight rather than six-car trains, rehabilitate rail infrastructure and stations, provide for station enhancements to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and upgrade or replace traction power, signal and communication equipment. By far, the largest part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project was the station renovations. Of the Brown Line's 19 stations, only one (Merchandise Mart) was not touched at all due to its modern construction (1988) and ability to berth eight-car trains.

On April 13, 2004, the CTA^® announced that it had officially received a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). However, in May 2004, CTA^® received construction bids for the project that substantially exceeded the budget. As such, the Chicago Transit Board voted on June 9, 2004 to reorganize the project into several discrete pieces to help attract more competitive construction bids. Station renovation work was modified and grouped into five separate packages according to location to help reduce the overall cost of station construction. Paulina station was grouped with Diversey, Wellington, and Southport -- all of which were designed by the same consultant, Teng -- in a bid package. Station designs were also revised to reduce costs. Most changes concentrated on non-customer areas such as reducing the size of janitor closets, employee restrooms, electrical rooms and communication rooms. Other areas that were studied for cost reduction were standardizing common station elements, the use of less expensive materials, canopy designs and coverage, and temporary station closures to provide contractors better access to the sites.

The Paulina/Southport/Wellington/Diversey contract was the fifth and last of the reorganized station packages to be bid out. At the December 12, 2006 board meeting, a $66.9 million contract for the renovation of these stations was awarded to FHP Tectonics Corporation.

Station Design

The contract included construction of a new, modern station house, extension of the platforms to accommodate 8-car trains, and installation of elevators for ADA accessibility. The new expanded station facility featured an increased number of turnstiles and farecard vending machines.

The contract includes construction of modern station houses, extension of platforms to accommodate 8-car trains, and installation of elevators for ADA accessibility. The new station house will front onto Lincoln Avenue, across the street from the current station house. The new expanded station facility will feature more turnstiles and farecard vending machines. New, wider stairs and elevators will take customers to the boarding platforms. The platforms will be renovated with new decking, lighting and signage. The existing original, historic canopies will be retained and refurbished. Any remaining original railing sections will be replaced with a new railing type that is standard for the renovated Brown Line stations. An auxiliary exit will be provided at the east end of the station at Paulina Street, where the current station entrance is.

Other improvements include new fare equipment, signage, electrical, communications, and HVAC equipment; customer heaters and benches on the platforms; and a state-of-the-art announcement system.

Station Renovation Work

Construction at the Southport and Paulina stations is expected to last approximately 13 months, with both stations subject to temporary closure for 12 months during construction. However, no two adjacent stations will be scheduled to close at the same time on weekdays so customers may go to the next closest station for service. During periods of temporary closure, customers are encouraged to use the most convenient existing CTA^® bus and rail service in the area.

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Paulina temporarily closed for renovation. Paulina will temporarily close for 12 months while construction crews work to rebuild the station. The adjacent stations -- Addison and Southport -- will remain open during the temporary closure of the Paulina station so customers may continue to use them to access Brown Line service.

The project's Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government requires that the CTA^® complete the project by the end of 2009.

The 1907-vintage Paulina dual side platforms, looking east from the northbound platform on September 11, 2002. Paulina's platforms have undergone little alteration in their 90+ years, remaining well-intact examples of Ravenswood branch platform design. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

	paulina02.jpg A married-pair first version 6000-series train on the all-stop Ravenswood run, sporting its trademark Mercury Green, Croyden Cream and Swamp Holly Orange paint scheme, stops at the Paulina station in the 1980s. (Photo by Joe Testagrose)
	cta22e.jpg (119k) Car 22 brings up the rear of a two-car Ravenswood train, which is leaving Paulina on August 20, 1970. Car 22 was sent to IRM for preservation in May 2000. (Photo by Joe Testagrose)
	cta2428.jpg (123k) Car 2428 leads a two-car Ravenswood local stopping at Paulina on August 31, 1982. At this time, trains stops at Paulina only Monday-Friday between 0630 and 1830 hours. It would be another five years before Paulina returns to all hours of service. (Photo by Doug Grotjahn, Collection of Joe Testagrose)
	cta2600s03.jpg A Ravenswood six-car 2600-series train approaches Paulina in fall 1992. Only a few years after the picture was taken, the 2600s would be taken off the Ravenswood and the whole line would be run with all-new 3200-series cars, the first time in history the Ravenswood would be run not only with all the same type of equipment, but all of it brand new! (Photo by Roberto Ayala)
	cta6656c.jpg (63k) Car 6656 brings the rear of northbound Ravenswood All-Stop that has just left Paulina station. A train of 2600-series cars is approaching from the north, having just left Addison, on their way to the Loop. This picture was taken on a cold, rainy day in November of 1991. Unit 6655-6656 eventually went to the Illinois Railway Museum, after being retired (Photo by Roberto Ayala)
	cta6656-2600s.jpg (81k) Car 6656 and a train of 2600-series cars pass each other just west of Paulina. Nothing in this photo remains here today: the 6000-series cars have been retired (with 6656 going to IRM) and the 2600s are on the Red and Blue Lines, with 3200s now totally equipping the Ravenswood; the old shepherd's crook station platform lights have been replaced with sodium vapor "shoe box" lights on straighter poles. This picture dates from November of 1991. (Photo by Roberto Ayala)
	cta3337.jpg Northbound Brown Line run 409 is led by car 3337 as it stops at Paulina on its way to Kimball terminal on August 10, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)
	cta3357a.jpg Car 3357 trails a Brown Line leaving Paulina station on its way north, preparing to cross the Union Pacific - North Line's right-of-way before turning north to Ravenswood, on August 22, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)
	cta3393.jpg A Kimball-bound four-car train, led by car 3393, stops at Paulina station on the Brown Line on August 22, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)
	cta3408b.jpg Car 3408 leads Brown Line run 423, stopping at Paulina station on its way to the Loop on August 22, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)
	cta3439.jpg With the dutiful motorman in the cab window, car 3439 pulls into Paulina station on its southbound Brown Line run to the Loop on August 22, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)