Monday, after years of planning, delays, and, ultimately, construction, the CTA opened the new Damen Green Line L station at Damen Avenue and Lake Street on Chicago’s Near West Side. The station, approved in 2017, features lots of green, a pedestrian bridge between the inbound and outbound sides of the platform offering a spectacular view of the Chicago Skyline, and a mosaic art installation by local artist Folayemi Wilson in the atrium-style entrance lobby off Damen Avenue.
The atrium entrance, featuring a mosaic art installation by Chicago artist Folayemi Wilson. Photo by Daniel Schell
The Damen elevated platform fills a 1.5-mile-long service gap between the Ashland station to the east and the California station to the west, allowing West Side residents easier access to transit. It also adds a convenient transportation option for sports and concert fans going to and from the United Center, joining the Ashland Green /Pink Line station to the east and the Illinois Medical District Blue Line station across the Eisenhower Expressway as the closest L platforms to the arena.
F.H. Paschen is the general contractor on this build for the Chicago Transit Authority. They chose Perkins&Will to do the design work. The city issued a new construction permit for the station on August 10, 2022, with an estimated cost of $50 million. It is estimated the overall costs for the station have risen to $80 million.
Here are a whole bunch of photos taken Monday August 5, Opening Day. And remember:
In the direction of travel, doors open on the right at Damen.
Divvy rack right outside the station along Lake Street. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The main (festive) entrance off Damen. Photo by Daniel Schell
The pedestrian overpass. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Mosaic art installation by Folayemi Wilson. Photo by Daniel Schell
Starirway leading up from the entrance hall to the train access. Photo by Daniel Schell
Stairway down from the pedestrian overpass. Lobby to the left, inbound trains to the right. Photo by Daniel Schell
Stairway down to the lobby/entrance. Photo by Daniel Schell
Landing above the lobby/entrance and stairs leading up to the pedestrian overpass. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The pedestrian overpass, crossing over the L tracks to the outbound platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
There are warming stations on each side of the platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
Stairway down to the outbound platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
Skyline View, with Westhaven Park on the right. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking north from the pedestrian overpass. Photo by Daniel Schell
Looking south from the pedestrian overpass. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
A Green Line train enters the station. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
The covered stairway leading down to the outbound platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
There are seats on each side of the platform. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Subscribe to YIMBY’s daily e-mail
Follow YIMBYgram for real-time photo updates
Like YIMBY on Facebook
Follow YIMBY’s Twitter for the latest in YIMBYnews
The headline says Blue Line but it should be the Green Line
Oof. Fixed it, Thank you.
Thank you for all the photos – we will see how it weathers.
I share your concern. Lots of glass for an agency that has struggled with cleanliness…
^HarryC is that you?
This station is gorgeous. Just in time for DNC and thousands of visitors.
Should be a boon to more development in that corridor and meshes nicely with new plans by the younger Wirtz/Riensdorf plans for activating UC parking lots with housings and entertainment district.
Lots of stairs…how about handicap accessibility?
There are elevators for accessibility.
Way to find the one dark cloud in the sky
A beautiful station, it’s great to see the CTA investing in things like this. It’s time to upzone the properties around it and get those surface parking lots filled in.
It’s a nice general station and that’s what’s needed. Now build/improve another one.
This is great! Love it, very cool looking station. Now keep doing more infill throughout the system. My dream infills would be:
Red: 15th
Orange: Cermak, Loomis, 33rd, Pershing, California, Kostner
Yellow: Ridge, Dodge, Crawford, Kostner
Green: Western, 29th, Michigan, Racine, King Dr (for both directions, not just inbound)
Blue: Central(290), Gladstone Park (90), Natoma (90), Canfield (90)
Purple/Brown: Halsted, Division, Ohio
Pink: Madison, Roosevelt
Half the stations I listed used to be stations way back in the day before CTA demolished several due to funding. Bring back better neighborhood connectivity!
The challenge with infill stations is that they increase travel times for those who have to pass through them. Even if dwell time is just a minute, it can add up to 10% to a commute, depending on the length. If you add four stations and you had a 20-minute train ride, you’ve now gone to perhaps 25 minutes. It may not sound like much, but there is a cost which could then make driving more desirable for some, offsetting the benefit of the new station.
That’s not to say that infill stations aren’t valuable, but they need to be decided carefully.
Access>>>>commute times
More stops = more access. The current spacing of the stations makes using the transit inaccessible. NYC averages a .25 mile between stations.
Brown/Purple has no station between Armitage and Chicago when there’s been a massive residential boom in old town. Idiotic
For most lines I don’t think the dwell time at stations is most of why trips take too long. From my understanding, it’s mostly antiquated tight curves on key parts of the tracks, underpowered electricity sourcing, antiquated signaling that doesn’t allow trains to safely follow each other closely, etc.
Great addition!
You have to go up and over to go west? WTF???
Greenline is the most underutilized line in my opinion because it traverses most of the low income areas within Chicago. Both Englewood and Woodlawn need their stations brought back. 59th/State and Racine on the Englewood and then 61st and Dorchester and Stony Island on the Jackson Park branch
1. Not a single place to lock a bike.
2. Up and over to get to/from westbound trains?
3. Entrance/exit on one corner only.