Roosevelt station (CTA)

Roosevelt is an "L" station on the CTA's Red, Green, and Orange Lines, located between the Chicago Loop and the Near South Side in Chicago, Illinois. It is situated at 1167 S State Street, just north of Roosevelt Road. The station is also the closest "L" station to the Museum Campus of Chicago and Soldier Field, which are about 1⁄2 mile (800 m) to the east. The Museum Campus/11th Street Metra station is also about 1⁄3 mile (500 m) to the east. A transfer tunnel connects the subway station (Roosevelt/State), served by Red Line trains, and the elevated station (Roosevelt/Wabash), served by Green and Orange Line trains. History and description Elevated station An elevated station at Roosevelt opened on June 6, 1892, as part of the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad, the first elevated rapid transit line in Chicago. From 1919 to 1963, interurban trains of the North Shore Line also used the station. "L" service through the station was discontinued in 1949 when CTA routed all trains from the Englewood and Jackson Park branches through the State Street subway, using the 13th Street portal, forming the North-South Route (a precursor of today's Red Line), and following the bankruptcy of the North Shore Line in 1963 the station was closed completely and demolished. "L" service resumed passing the site of the original station in 1969 when the CTA began to route Lake–Dan Ryan trains into the Loop. A new elevated station was constructed in 1993 as part of the new Orange Line service. The station's design is typical to other Orange Line stations with a wide, flat canopy over the entire platform and an spacious headhouse on the north side of Roosevelt Road. Immediately south of the station exists a pocket track, which is used to turn trains back to the Loop if any activity, such as construction, is obstructing rail traffic. Subway station The subway station at Roosevelt opened on October 17, 1943, as part of the State Street subway. In 1996, Roosevelt was renovated with new lighting and new tilework with Art Deco-inspired motifs and silhouettes of the skyline. It was the first station to be renovated in this style. Transfer tunnel In 1993, when the new elevated station was constructed it was intended that there should be a direct link to the subway, however, due to lack of funds this was not initially built. The project broke ground in November 2001, after receiving $7.5 million from state and federal sources. In December 2002, the stations were finally linked as a single facility through the Roosevelt transfer tunnel. The 200-foot-long tunnel was designed by local architect Cynthia Muller. A mosaic, Hopes and Dreams by Juan Angel Chávez and Corinne D. Peterson, adorns the walls, consisting of over 4,000 clay tiles made by visitors to the Museum Campus in 1999 and is themed around the institutions there. Operations as a terminus The subway station and elevated station have been used as termini, albeit both on very rare occasions. The elevated station has a reversing track located immediately south of the platform, used only when there is an obstruction between Roosevelt and 35th-Bronzeville-IIT and/or Halsted. The subway station last functioned as a terminus during Ravenswood Connector construction, when Brown Line trains were rerouted via the State Street subway to Roosevelt. If there is a service obstruction on the Red Line between Cermak-Chinatown and Roosevelt, trains are rerouted via the 13th Street Ramp to the South Side Elevated, therefore negating the need for the station to be a terminus. Bus connections CTA 12 Roosevelt 18 16th/18th 29 State 62 Archer (Owl Service) 130 Museum Campus (Memorial Day through Labor Day only) 146 Inner Lake Shore/Michigan Express 192 University of Chicago Hospitals Express (weekday rush hours only) Gallery See also Clark/Lake, Chicago's only other combined elevated–subway ‘L’ facility References External links Media related to Roosevelt (CTA) at Wikimedia Commons Roosevelt Station on the CTA website Roosevelt/State station page at Chicago-L.org Roosevelt/Wabash station page at Chicago-L.org