The renovated station house
Opened on June 1st, 1900 and located in Chicago’s trendy Lincoln Park neighbourhood, Armitage station was one of the first to serve the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. Originally named Center Street, the Armitage station house was designed by William Gibb. The street-level station house was based on the Classical Revival style; being constructed of brick and finished with an elegant terracotta trim. The platforms are wooden planks with edges capped off using blue plastic to enhance visibility when boarding or alighting trains. The platform canopies feature corrugated sheet metal roofs which cover a short section where the stairs and new elevators are located.
On the north end of the inbound platform is a former control tower that was used to manage the interlocking for the northern portal of the State Street subway. The interlocking is now controlled at a tower further up the line at the Clark Junction, where the Brown Line diverges from the Red and Purple Lines.
Armitage serves the Brown and Purple Express lines on the outer tracks, while Red line trains pass through without stopping on the centre tracks.
In 2006, work began on the Armitage station to enhance it for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. This project would give the station longer platforms to allow eight car trains, elevators, and an expanded station house for increased crowds during rush hours. Much of the station house’s original design was left unaltered and the interiors were replicated to give passengers the true feeling of days gone by.
Personally, this is one of my favourite stations (the other being the historic Quincy station) and is located in a beautiful neighbourhood. Stop by and take a look!
A replica of the original signage found at the station before the reconstruction.
Sources: Chicago-L.org, Chicago Transit Authority
