Pulaski station (CTA Blue Line)

Pulaski
 
4000W
530S
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location530 South Pulaski Road
Chicago, Illinois 60624
Coordinates41°52′26″N 87°43′32″W / 41.873797°N 87.725663°W / 41.873797; -87.725663
Owned byChicago Transit Authority
Line(s)Forest Park Branch
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeExpressway median
History
OpenedJune 22, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-06-22)
Passengers
2022306,653[1]Decrease 1.9%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Cicero Blue Line
Kedzie–Homan
toward O'Hare
Former services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Kostner
Closed 1973
Congress branch Kedzie
as an elevated station (pre-1958)
Tripp Garfield Park branch Garfield Park
toward Marshfield
Location
Map

Pulaski is a station on the Chicago 'L' system, serving the Blue Line's Forest Park branch. The station is located in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway and serves the West Garfield Park neighborhood. A long ramp connects the platform to the station house on the Pulaski Road overpass. There was originally a similar entrance from the Keeler Avenue overpass; the entrance from Keeler was closed to cut costs on January 15, 1973,[2] but retained as an exit, and the exit was fully closed on December 28, 1978. The structure for this exit still stands but it is closed to the public.

History

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Elevated station

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The original Pulaski station (then called 40th Avenue station) opened in 1895 along with several other stations on the Garfield Park branch of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated. Because 40th Avenue was renamed to Crawford Avenue and later to Pulaski Road, the station was renamed twice in 1913 and in 1935 respectively.[3] When skip-stop service was implemented on the Garfield Park branch on December 9, 1951, the station was designated an AB station, meaning all trains stop at this station.[4] The elevated station was eventually closed in 1958 in favor of a newly-opened replacement station in the median of the Congress Expressway.[5]

Expressway-median station

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The new Pulaski station opened on June 22, 1958, on the Congress branch. This time, however, the station was designated an A station. During the time the CTA used skip-stop service, A trains west of Racine station were routed along the Congress branch, while B trains were routed along the Douglas branch (today's Pink Line).[6] In an effort to cut cost, access to Keeler Avenue was limited to exiting passengers on January 15, 1973;[2] the ramp was closed entirely on December 28, 1978.[7]

Bus connections

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CTA

  • 7 Harrison (Weekdays only)
  • 53 Pulaski (Owl Service)

References

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  1. ^ "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "CTA Gives Riders Taste of Cutback". Chicago Tribune. January 14, 1973. p. 42.
  3. ^ "Fight for 40th Street". Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  4. ^ "CTA revises Garfield, Douglas, institutes A-B service". Chicago Tribune. 1 December 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Chicago L.org: Stations - Pulaski". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  6. ^ Chicago Transit Authority System Map (Map). Chicago Transit Authority. March 1991. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Chicago L.org: Stations - Pulaski". www.chicago-l.org. Retrieved 10 December 2023.
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