Austin (1W/800S)
Austin Avenue and Garfield Street, Village of Oak Park

Service Notes:

Garfield Line

Quick Facts:

Address: TDB
Established: March 11, 1905
Original Line: Metropolitan West Side Elevated, Garfield Park branch
Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: n/a
Status: Demolished

History:

The Aurora Elgin & Chicago interurban began service from Aurora and Wheaton to a connection with the "L" at 52nd Avenue (Laramie) on August 25, 1902. Included on the AE&C's main line was a station at 60th Avenue (Austin). The AE&C's (later reorganized as the Chicago Aurora & Elgin) service to stations on this segment of their main line was short-lived, as the Metropolitan "L" assumed local service between 52nd Avenue and Desplaines Avenue on March 11, 1905, relieving the AE&C of this unwanted chore. The extension of Garfield Park service to Desplaines and the Met's servicing of the local stations between was part of the reciprocal trackage agreement that allowed the AE&C to extend to downtown Chicago and the Fifth Avenue Terminal over the Metropolitan Elevated.

The Austin station was a simple facility located at ground level, as the Garfield Park line ran at-grade west of Cicero station. The station consisted of wooden dual side platforms with a fare control facility on the inbound platform.

On December 9, 1951, concurrent with the CTA discontinuing all Garfield service west of Desplaines, service west of Laramie was also discontinued on Sundays and holidays, replaced with a bus service to and from the Central station on the Lake Street "L" line. To make up for the loss of service, from the same date until the interurban's discontinuance of service east of Desplaines on September 20, 1953, the CA&E stopped in both directions at Austin on Sundays and holidays.

During the 1950s, the City of Chicago and Cook County undertook construction of the Congress Superhighway [Eisenhower Expressway] along the general alignment of the Garfield Park "L" line. Part of the project also included the new new Congress "L" Line to replace the Garfield Park. The Congress Expressway opened in stages between 1955 and 1960; on June 22, 1958, the first section of the new Congress Line opened between Halsted and Laramie, replacing the Garfield Park elevated.

Work on the Congress Expressway and "L" line west of Laramie Avenue resulted in some complicated staging and several temporary facilities along the at-grade portion of the Garfield Line. On August 29, 1954, Garfield trains were rerouted trains via temporary tracks north of original alignment between Central and Lombard to allow for highway construction. At the same time, the old side platform station was abandoned and a new island platform station was opened on the west side of Austin Avenue, with an auxiliary exit to Lombard Avenue. An auxiliary entrance at Lombard opened a month later on September 27.

Over three years later the Garfield Line shifted to a second set of temporary tracks from Austin to west of Oak Park, even further north than the first temporary alignment. On September 6, 1957, concurrent with the move to the second temporary alignment west of Austin, the Lombard auxiliary entrance was closed.

Just under three years later, the permanent right-of-way was ready, although the permanent replacement Congress Line station was not. On March 19, 1960, the permanent eastbound Congress Line track was placed in service between Waller and Desplaines in open cut alongside site of future expressway. A temporary island platform was placed in service on the east side of Austin Avenue. The next day, on March 20, the permanent westbound track was also placed in service, closing the previous temporary platform. Meanwhile, between the permanent tracks, the new, permanent island platform was constructed west of Austin. The new Austin station platform was placed in service on December 27, 1960, including an auxiliary entrance/exit at Lombard.