page_title: Kostner station (CTA Congress Line)
section_title: Structure
hierarchical_section_title: Kostner station (CTA Congress Line) / Structure
caption_attribution_description: 19670600 01 CTA Congress L @ Kostner Ave
context_page_description: Kostner is an abandoned rapid transit station in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station served the Chicago Transit Authority's Congress Line, which is now part of the Blue Line. Kostner opened on August 5, 1962; it was the only station on the Congress Line which was not opened with the line on June 22, 1958. The station closed on September 2, 1973, due to low ridership.
context_section_description: Like the other Congress Line stations, Kostner consisted of a station house on the east side of Kostner Avenue overpass and an island platform in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway. Where Kostner differed from the other stations, though, was in its size and design due to its expected low ridership and late addition to the system. The station house was typical of Congress Line stations, but it was more modest in size. It had one agent's booth, one entrance turnstile, and one exit turnstile. The station house was 32 feet (9.8 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide, less than the standard 42 feet (13 m) by 17 feet (5.2 m). The platform, however, was 600 feet (180 m), the standard length on the Congress Line. Kostner also did not have ramps to the platform like most Congress Line stations; instead, it had a single staircase.
  Since Kostner was never intended to be part of the Congress Line, the CTA put a curve in the tracks at the station site. This curve caused the Kostner platform to be curved, which created visibility issues for operators. To aid the operators, a series of mirrors was installed along the station. A canopy covered the entire platform, and eight windbreaks also provided shelter. The CTA removed signage from the platform when Kostner closed, but it is otherwise intact.  The station house is now boarded up and fenced off, but it is also intact.
caption: The station in June 1967
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