Western station (CTA Brown Line)

Western is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line. It is an elevated station with two side platforms, located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood. The adjacent stations are Rockwell, which is located about one-quarter mile (0.40 km) to the west, and Damen, about one-half mile (0.80 km) to the east. Between Western and Rockwell the line descends and runs on ground level tracks for the rest of the route to Kimball.

Western   2400W 4700N
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
Location	4648 North Western Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60625
Coordinates	41.966259°N 87.688448°W
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Ravenswood Branch
Platforms	2 Side platforms
Tracks	3
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	May 18, 1907[1]
Rebuilt	late 1920s, 1979–81
Passengers
2019	1,258,060[2]  0.7%
Rank	49 out of 143
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Rockwell toward Kimball Brown Line Damen toward Loop (Washington/Wells)
Track layout Brown Line west to Kimball Western Ave. Brown Line east to Loop

History

The station was put into service in 1907 as part of Northwestern Elevated Railroad's Ravenswood line, and has been rebuilt twice since—in the late 1920s, and again from 1979 to 1981.[3] The current station consists of two side platforms, and a central storage line, its platforms were extended in 2006–07 to enable the station to accommodate eight railcars.

Chicago's Berlin Wall Monument is located inside of the station. Chicago was offered a piece of the wall in 2008 by the German government. The city chose to place the monument in the historically German-American Lincoln Square neighborhood. It is dedicated to the citizens of Chicago for helping "secure the freedom" of Berlin.[4]

Bus connections

CTA

• 11 Lincoln
• 49 Western (Owl Service)
• 49B North Western
• X49 Western Express (Weekday Rush Hours only)

Notes and references

Notes

References

1. "New 'L' Line Operated". Chicago Daily Tribune. May 19, 1907. p. 11.
2. "Monthly Ridership Report – December 2019" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. January 13, 2020. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
3. Western. Chicago "L".org (URL accessed September 17, 2006)
4. "German Neighborhood in Chicago - Lincoln Square and Ravenswood". Chicago Dossier. Denali Multimedia LLC. Retrieved 22 July 2013.

External links

• Western station on the CTA website
• Western station on chicago-l.org
• Western Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View