The Cermak branch, formerly known as the Douglas branch, is a long section of the
Pink Line of the
Chicago "L" system in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
. It was built by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated west of the Loop. As of February 2013, it serves an average of 17,474 passengers every weekday. The branch serves the
Near West Side,
Pilsen,
Lower West Side,
South Lawndale
South Lawndale is a community area on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Over 80% of the residents are of Mexican descent and the community is home to the largest foreign-born Mexican population in Chicago.
Neighborhoods
Little Village ...
, and
North Lawndale
North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the grea ...
neighborhoods of Chicago, and the west suburb
Cicero, Illinois
Cicero (originally known as Hawthorne) is a suburb of Chicago and an incorporated town in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 85,268. making it the 11th largest municipality in Illinois. The town of Cic ...
. The branch operates from 4:05 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., weekdays, and Saturdays from 5:05 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., and Sundays from 5:00 a.m. to 1:25 a.m., including holidays.
History
Initially known as the
Douglas Park branch, construction began in June 1893 and the line was inaugurated on April 28, 1896, between Marshfield Avenue and . The branch started off with four stations and was the shortest of the
Metropolitan West Side Elevated. Construction time was longer than in other sections.
On August 7, 1896, the Douglas Park branch was extended to .
On June 29, 1900, the City of Chicago approved an extension of the branch to (then
40th Avenue) and construction took place in mid-June 1901. On March 10, 1902, the Douglas Park branch was extended to Lawndale Avenue, which allowed the opening of four new stations: , , Homan, and Clifton Park (Drake).
On May 22, 1907, the Douglas Park branch was extended to 46th Avenue (Kenton Avenue), which is the Chicago city limits. The station was a few meters from the
Hawthorne plant of the
Western Electric which was one of the largest employers in the area of Chicago at the time. On December 16, 1907, the Douglas Park branch was extended to (then
48th Avenue), extending service to the town of Cicero, Illinois.
On August 20, 1910, the Douglas Park branch was extended to (then 52nd Avenue Avenue).
On August 1, 1912, service was extended to 56th Avenue (Central Avenue) and extended again to Lombard Avenue exactly three years later. The final stretch on the branch was to Oak Park Avenue, in
Berwyn, which opened on March 16, 1924.
On December 9, 1951, during the establishment of skip/stop A/B, the
Chicago Transit Authority
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...
l, which had taken over operation of the "L" system in 1947, streamlined service on the line and shut down five stations: 14th Place, Homan, Drake, Lawndale and Kenton, while opening a station at . On February 3, 1952, service on the Douglas line was suspended to all stations west of . Service to these areas was replaced by a bus route.
The stations at Roosevelt and Douglas Park were closed three months later.
On June 22, 1958, Douglas trains were rerouted to the West-Northwest route, the Congress branch, the new line in the middle of the Eisenhower Expressway and connecting routes to the
Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway, heading north to . The new system changed the service and it was decided that all stations on the Douglas branch would now be "B" and the Congress branch would now be "A". In 1973, due to budget cuts, the
50th Avenue station
50th Avenue was a Chicago 'L' station on the Douglas branch of the Chicago Transit Authority's West-Northwest Route, currently known as the Pink Line. The station was located at 50th Avenue and 21st Place in west suburban Cicero. It opened on ...
closed.
Renovations
In 1983, and were rebuilt to make them ADA accessible for passengers with disabilities. The poorly utilized station was closed to accelerate service the following year. In 1993, was rebuilt to provide access for passengers with disabilities and the CTA color-coded the lines, placing the Douglas branch as part of the
Blue Line. In 1995, the A/B service was abandoned and all trains stop at every station, which does not affect the service of the stations on the Douglas branch. In 1996, the CTA changed the name of the branch to the Cermak branch, although Chicagoans still use the name "Douglas" to refer to the line. In 1998, the branch lost its 24-hour service, along with the Purple and Green lines. On September 10, 2001, the CTA began a $363 million renovation project of the branch which was completed on January 8, 2005. As of today, all eleven stations on the branch are ADA accessible.
Current
The current
Pink Line route was assigned to the Douglas branch on June 25, 2006.
The CTA ended Blue Line service on the Douglas branch on April 25, 2008.
Station listing
Image gallery
Image:Western pink Line.jpg, An art wall sitting just outside the entrance at
Image:18th Street Pink Line.jpg, The station is built with art walls and structures
Image:Kedzie Pink.JPG, The station has a wide-wooden platform with passenger shelters
Image:Central Park Pink.jpg, The side entrance and small plaza at .
References
{{Chicago L, state=collapsed
Chicago Transit Authority
Railway lines in Chicago
Railway lines opened in 1896