Argyle station (CTA)

Argyle   5000N 1200W
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
Temporary platform in use until early 2025
General information
Location	Temporarily between Broadway, Winthrop Avenue, Foster Avenue, and Winona Street (originally 1118 West Argyle Street) Chicago, Illinois 60640
Coordinates	41.973365°N 87.658561°W / 41.973365; -87.658561
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	North Side Main Line
Platforms	1 Island platform
Tracks	4 (two temporarily out of service)
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Parking	No
Bicycle facilities	No
Accessible	Starting in early 2025
Other information
Status	Temporary station
History
Opened	Chicago & Evanston Railroad: May 21, 1885; 139 years ago (1885-05-21) Northwestern Elevated Railroad: May 16, 1908; 116 years ago (1908-05-16)
Rebuilt	1921, 2012, 2021–25
Previous names	Argyle Park
Passengers
2022	717,349[1]  39%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Bryn Mawr One-way operation Red Line Wilson toward 95th/Dan Ryan Berwyn (temporarily closed) toward Howard Lawrence (temporarily closed) toward 95th/Dan Ryan      Purple Line does not stop here
Former services Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station Edgewater towards Llewellyn Park Chicago – Evanston Sheridan Park towards Chicago
Track layout Purple Line Express north to Linden Red Line north to Howard Foster Ave. Temporary platform for station reconstruction Winona St. Purple Line Express south to Loop Red Line south to 95th/Dan Ryan
Location

Argyle is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's Red Line, located at 1118 West Argyle Street in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. It is an elevated station with an island platform. Purple Line weekday rush hour express service passes through this station but does not stop, normally on the outermost tracks, but due to the reconstruction going on until early 2025, they currently use the same tracks as Red Line trains.

Location

Argyle is situated on West Argyle Street, close to the intersection with Broadway though it has temporarily been located slightly north to a location between Foster Avenue and Winona Street due to reconstruction at the original site. The station is located in the West Argyle Street Historic District in the Uptown community area of Chicago; the area surrounding the station consists of a mixture commercial and residential areas,^[2] and is particularly noted for the high concentration of Vietnamese restaurants, bakeries and shops; as well as Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Thai businesses.^[3]

History

The new embankment at Argyle station in 1916

The site of Argyle station was first used as Argyle Park on the Chicago and Evanston branch of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad route, which opened on May 21, 1885.^[4] On opening, the station houses along the route were described as "attractive frame structures built in the Gothic and Queen Anne styles."^[4] In 1908, the Northwestern Elevated Railroad was extended north from Wilson, using the tracks of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad, and a new station was constructed on the site of the previous depot.^[5][6] The station was again rebuilt to a design by architect Charles P. Rawson when the tracks between Wilson and Howard were elevated onto an embankment between 1914 and 1922.^[7] In 1979, the station received a $250,000 facelift^[8] and, in 1991, a Chinese-style hipped-and-gabled roof was added to the platform canopy.^[9] The station was closed for renovation from August 24 to October 5, 2012.^[10]

Red & Purple Modernization Project

Entrance to temporary Argyle station at Foster Avenue

Argyle station under construction (November 2024)

The Argyle station is being rebuilt as part of this project. The station will receive new wider platforms, new signage, new lights, new security cameras, and new elevators, reconstruction will begin in May 2021 and will be completed in early 2025.^[11][12][13] During Stage A, the two northbound tracks and the main entrance were closed with northbound trains using what is normally the southbound Red line track and platform and southbound trains using the southbound Purple Line Express track stopping at a temporary side platform. Purple Line Express trains will continue to skip this station in both directions.^[13] Unlike a similar reconstruction that happened simultaneously at Bryn Mawr, both platforms used a single temporary entrance, as opposed to one platform using the normal entrance and one platform using a temporary entrance with no link in the paid area. After Stage A was completed in 2023, Stage B began, where the station was temporarily relocated a block north to a location between Foster Avenue and Winona Street with an entrance on each street.^[14] This time, the temporary station is an island platform located on what will be the permanent northbound Red Line track, located between what will be a completely new pocket track (which did not exist on the original structure) immediately to the north of the site of both the original and permanent new stations (currently being used by all southbound trains), and the permanent Purple Line Express northbound track (currently being used by all northbound trains).

Services

A northbound train at Argyle station, July 2010

Argyle is part of CTA's Red Line, which runs from the northern city limits at Howard Street to downtown Chicago and 95th Street. The station has an island platform on an elevated structure located between Broadway and Winthrop Avenue. It serves the Red Line's two tracks; the northbound track serves trains to Howard, while the southbound track serves trains to 95th. The station entrance was originally located on the north side of Argyle Street, built into the embankment. It is located between the Berwyn and Lawrence stations. Red Line trains serve Argyle 24 hours a day, every day of the year; trains operate roughly every 3 to 9 minutes during rush hour and midday operation, with longer headways of up to 15 minutes at night.^[15][16]

Bus connections

CTA

• 36 Broadway (approximately one half block away on Broadway)

References

1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 9, 2023.
2. City of Chicago Zoning Map (Map). Chicago Department of Zoning. 2010.
3. "Uptown's Argyle Street Named To Historic Register". CBS2 Chicago: Chicago Area Local News. CBS Broadcasting Inc. June 14, 2010. Archived from the original on June 21, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
4. "The Chicago & Evanston". Chicago Daily Tribune. May 22, 1885.
5. "Electrification of the Evanston Suburban Line of the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul". The Railway Age. 44 (14): 467. October 4, 1907. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
6. Garfield, Graham. "Argyle". Chicago-"L".org. Graham Garfield. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
7. Borzo, Greg (2007). The Chicago "L". Chicago: Arcadia Publishing. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7385-5100-5.
8. Lynch, Kevin; Janega, James (April 4, 2001). "Charlie Soo 1945-2001. - Argyle Street 'Mayor,' Bold Promoter of Asian Shops". Chicago Tribune.
9. McCarron, John (February 6, 1991). "'Mayor' Brings New Life to Argyle Street". Chicago Tribune.
10. "Red Ahead: Argyle". Chicago Transit Authority. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
11. "CTA unveils new Red Line station designs". January 28, 2021.
12. "Four CTA Red Line stations are getting a makeover".
13. "CTA Red & Purple Modernization: Lawrence to Bryn Mawr Modernization Project".
14. "Red and Purple Modernization Program".
15. "Red Line Route Guide". Chicago Transit Authority. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
16. "Argyle Station Timetable" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 29, 2010.

External links

• Argyle Station Page CTA official site
• Argyle Street entrance from Google Maps Street View