Division station (CTA Logan Square branch)
| Industry | Rapid transit |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1892 |
| Fate | Merged into Chicago Elevated Railways trust in 1911 |
| Successor | Chicago Elevated Railways, later Chicago Rapid Transit Company |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Division served as a rapid transit stop on the Chicago "L" Logan Square branch, part of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad system. Situated along Division Street, it commenced operations on May 6, 1895.
The Metropolitan was among four firms responsible for constructing the Chicago "L" and managed several west side routes, including Logan Square. Despite facing financial difficulties, it continued running these lines until 1911, when control shifted to Chicago Elevated Railways. Later, in 1924, these lines consolidated under the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT). The publicly owned Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) assumed control in 1947.
Since the late 1930s, plans for a subway aimed to offer more direct access to downtown compared to the segment of the Logan Square branch serving Division. Initially designed to complement the existing elevated route, the CTA decided to discontinue the old branch after inaugurating the subway on February 25, 1951. A new Division station was established two blocks east on Ashland Avenue, prompting closure of the original station and neighboring stops. The former station remained unused for revenue purposes until its demolition and subsequent land sale in 1964.
The Division station showcased typical Metropolitan architecture: two wooden side platforms accompanied by a brick station building at street level. It provided connections to two streetcar lines—one local and one express—with owl service available on both the "L" and express streetcar routes, but not on the local streetcar line.
History
On April 7, 1892, the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company secured a 50-year franchise from the Chicago City Council and promptly acquired right of way. Its system featured a main line extending westward from downtown to Marshfield, where three branches diverged: northwest toward Logan Square, westbound to Garfield Park, and southwest to Douglas Park. Additionally, a branch to Humboldt Park extended westward from the Logan Square branch beyond Robey station.
By October 1894, construction of the Logan Square branch was finalized, with power activated in April 1895 for trial runs. Service officially started on May 6, 1895, operating between Robey and Canal stations and inaugurating eleven stations including Division Street.
Initially operated by the West Side Construction Company, ownership transferred to the Metropolitan on October 6, 1896; both entities shared much of their leadership and investors. However, heavy construction costs forced receivership in 1897. Operations resumed under the reorganized Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway Company in February 1899.
On July 1, 1911, the Metropolitan became part of the Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) trust, which centralized management and introduced free transfers across Chicago's "L" network while preserving separate company identities. This structure persisted until a formal merger forming the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) in 1924, with the former Metropolitan designated as CRT’s Metropolitan division.
Although municipal ownership of transit had been debated for years, public control was only achieved with establishment of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1945. The CTA officially took over operation of the "L" system on October 1, 1947.
Closure and demolition
Efforts to construct a Chicago subway aimed at easing congestion and complementing the elevated rail lines date back to the early 1900s. In 1937, Chicago applied for Public Works Administration (PWA) funding to build a subway beneath State Street. However, PWA head Harold L. Ickes rejected the initial streetcar tunnel concept, advocating instead for a second subway line running under Dearborn and Milwaukee Avenue to establish a more direct connection between Logan Square and downtown. Despite resistance from local figures, including Mayor Edward Joseph Kelly, the Dearborn subway proposal received approval in 1938.
The sanctioning of this plan did not immediately terminate the Logan Square branch operations. Damen Tower, which served as the junction for the Humboldt Park branch, was reconstructed with the expectation of facilitating train transfers between the subway and elevated lines—akin to how the State Street subway complemented the North Side main line. Even as late as 1949, commuters were assured that this arrangement would maintain Logan Square track usage. Nonetheless, the CTA showed no intention of running either the old Logan Square elevated or Humboldt Park branch; consequently, Damen Tower was never equipped with switching apparatus, and the segment of the Logan Square branch south of Damen ceased operations following the subway's inauguration.
Although construction on the Dearborn subway was 82% complete by 1942, World War II caused work to be suspended; postwar efforts resumed and led to its opening on February 25, 1951. This new subway cut travel time from Logan Square to downtown from 28 minutes down to 15. While direct service to the Near West Side was discontinued, ridership surged by over 60% compared to the previous Logan Square branch by year’s end. The subway also featured a station at Division Street.
The former Logan Square tracks south of where the subway begins were designated as the Paulina Connector, linking that branch to the larger "L" network but without Loop access. To mitigate fire risks and discourage trespassing, wooden components from stations along this connector were removed. The northbound track was dismantled in 1957; however, the southbound track remained for non-revenue movements. In 1964, the section north of Kinzie Street—including Division, Chicago, and Grand stations—was demolished, with its right-of-way sold off to neighboring property owners.
Accidents and incidents
On January 9, 1903, Mary Burke—the station agent on duty—was robbed of $35 by three individuals. A former Metropolitan bill poster was apprehended and confessed but declined to identify his accomplices.
Station details
Division station consisted of two wooden side platforms accompanied by a street-level station house constructed from red pressed brick accented with white limestone trim atop a stone foundation. Its architectural style resembled other stations on the Logan Square branch such as California and Damen, featuring a corniced and dentiled front bay housing paired "Entrance" and "Exit" doors along with elaborate terra cotta ornamentation. The platforms were sheltered by hipped tin canopies supported by decorative cast-iron railings with diamond patterns. Unlike typical "L" stations, those built by Metropolitan included central heating systems and basements. The West Side Construction Company—sharing leadership with Metropolitan—constructed this infrastructure using steel supplied by Carnegie Steel Company.
Operations and connections
At the outset, Metropolitan trains operated at six-minute intervals from 6 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., shifting to ten-minute intervals during overnight hours, with an average speed of 16 mph. Unlike the Lake Street Elevated system, all Metropolitan cars allowed smoking until a citywide prohibition was enacted amid the 1918 influenza epidemic, a restriction that remains enforced.
During the late 1800s and early 1900s, fares were legally fixed at five cents, briefly increased to six cents in 1917, before settling at ten cents in 1920. Starting in 1922, fare packages offering three rides for 25 cents (equivalent to approximately 8⅓ cents per ride) were introduced, while single rides continued to cost ten cents. That same year marked the launch of a $1.25 weekly pass—the first of its kind in a major American city—applicable for travel beyond Evanston and Wilmette. Fare collection was primarily overseen by station agents around the clock, with conductors deployed sporadically during nighttime and off-peak periods throughout the 1930s.
Upon the inauguration of Division station, Division Street had been serviced by a downtown-bound horse car line since 1890 running between Mozart Street and Milwaukee Avenue, encompassing the station area. Initially, cable cars operated along Milwaukee Avenue until electrification occurred in 1896. Concurrently, a local streetcar route ran on Division Street between Mozart and Wells Streets, serving the station vicinity as well. Local streetcar service ceased by midnight in 1928 without any overnight (owl) service; however, downtown routes continued operating at thirty-minute intervals overnight but were suspended on Sundays starting in 1932 as a cost-saving measure. In 1937, local service extended from Wells to 21st and State Streets and was integrated with Van Buren Street cars into a U-shaped downtown through-routing pattern.
These streetcar lines persisted with minimal modifications until buses replaced them on February 4, 1951; the downtown route was also discontinued at that time. The new bus route consolidated former streetcar services along Division Street with through-routing. A bus connection linking two streetcar segments commenced on October 1, 1941, ultimately replacing the western streetcar track segment by July 9, 1946.
Ridership
In 1948—the final year for which ridership data is available—Division station recorded 353,570 passengers, representing a decrease of 17.64% from the previous year's total of 429,315 riders.
That year placed Division as the 128th busiest among 223 "L" stations reporting ridership figures, down from its rank of 115th out of 222 stations in 1947. Several stations on the Niles Center and Westchester branches did not submit ridership data, and some stations closed during 1948. Exchange station on the Stock Yards branch stopped reporting after 1946, whereas nearby Racine station began providing statistics starting in 1948.