The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is making notable strides in the construction of the new Damen Green Line Station, located at 2001 W Lake Street in the Near West Side neighborhood. This significant infrastructure project, initially proposed in 2017, had encountered delays and cost increases, raising its value to $80.2 million. The station will occupy a previously vacant site at the intersection with N Damen Avenue, reinstating rail service to a location that had lost its original station back in 1948.
Damen CTA Green Line Station. Photo by Jack Crawford
Damen CTA Green Line Station. Photo by Jack Crawford
Rendering of Damen CTA Green Line Station by Perkins & Will
View of original Damen stop in 1946 via Chicago-L.org
Tracing its roots back over 125 years, the Green Line of the CTA is one of Chicago’s most historic transit lines. The original Damen Station, pivotal in 1893 for the World’s Fair, was a crucial transit hub that was eventually closed and demolished due to low ridership and the desire to optimize service speed.
Rendering of Damen CTA Green Line Station platform by Perkins & Will
Damen CTA Green Line Station. Photo by Jack Crawford
The 5,000-square-foot design, led by Perkins & Will, includes several distinctive elements. These include a double-height main entrance, an artistic mural by Folayemi (Fo) Wilson, a stone-clad elevator core, and an elevated bridge featuring green trusses and a lit tower.
Rendering of connection bridge of Damen CTA Green Line Station by Perkins & Will
Rendering of entry to Damen CTA Green Line Station by Perkins & Will
Damen CTA Green Line Station. Photo by Jack Crawford
Damen CTA Green Line Station. Photo by Jack Crawford
F.H. Paschen, the general contractor, is overseeing the construction, which also encompasses a $13 million track reconstruction over a mile stretch to integrate the station into the existing network. Despite the initial delays, a completion date is now in site. A recent update by the Chicago Sun Times indicated an April 2024 opening.
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Very happy for this project, but this is another Chicago civic construction that feels like it’s taken forever to get this far.
Skyscraper risings usually are a more simplified system and this station has to take other risks into consideration, it would just be cool to see more than a skeleton on a years delayed project.
Here’s to hoping Dorval lets this station finish up smoothly. Maybe he’ll christen the opening with a train delay?
More opportunities for Green Line robberies. Lol
2 blocks away from the united center its about time,thank you Chicago, Chicago has what California doesn’t the CTA now we need a pink line train stop right next to the house that Jordan built just like the Addison stop right next too Wrigley field if you built it they will come it can happen
Madison Pink Line stop will never happen. Events at the United Center would cause more demand than the rest of the line can handle. 54th Yard isn’t big enough and the platforms aren’t long enough.
Excellent architectural addition to the CTA and Chicago. It seems like the new buildings in the city are mostly boring redundant designs that aren’t forward thinking. Sadly, the city has lost its architectural edge. Salutes to Dorval for countering this trend. Quality is not accomplished in a day.
This doesn’t seem like progress to me. The old station allowed riders to get out of the weather and there was a warm stove inside. I love how it had buildings packed in nearby. This is more like the fire stations that are eating Chicago. A half block of sprawl where other buildings could go to create a compact and walkable city. Even the renderings evoke a prairie in the middle of nowhere. Sheesh.