Kedzie station (CTA Garfield Park branch)
| Company type | Rapid transit station |
|---|---|
| Industry | Public transportation |
| Founded | 1895 |
| Defunct | 1958 |
| Fate | Demolished; replaced by Kedzie–Homan station on the Congress Line |
| Headquarters | Chicago , United States |
Kedzie functioned as a rapid transit stop on Chicago's "L," operating along the Garfield Park branch of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad from 1895 until 1958. Additionally, from 1905 to 1953, it accommodated the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E), an interurban line that utilized the Garfield Park tracks.
The station was dismantled when the branch was supplanted by the Congress Line, which features the Kedzie–Homan station positioned at the original Kedzie location.
History
After receiving a 50-year franchise from the Chicago City Council in 1892, the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company promptly began acquiring right of way. Its system included a main route extending west from downtown Chicago, which divided into three branches serving different parts of the city's west side: Logan Square to the northwest, Garfield Park directly west, and Douglas Park to the southwest. The Garfield Park branch commenced operations on June 19, 1895.
Operations were initially managed by the West Side Construction Company but transferred to the Metropolitan in 1896, although ownership largely remained unchanged. Due to financial difficulties stemming from construction expenses, the company entered receivership in 1897; service resumed under a reorganized entity named the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway Company in 1899.
The Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railway (AE&C), established in 1901, launched service in 1902 connecting Aurora with Chicago’s Garfield Park branch. In 1905, a trackage rights agreement with the Metropolitan permitted AE&C trains to access downtown Chicago via Metropolitan tracks and allowed Metropolitan trains to extend west onto AE&C lines. Following bankruptcy, AE&C reorganized as the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) in 1921.
In 1911, the Metropolitan became part of the Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) trust, which unified management and introduced free transfers without merging companies. This arrangement culminated in the creation of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) in 1924, designating the former Metropolitan as its Metropolitan Division. Public control was established with the founding of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1945, which took over operation of the "L" system in 1947.
Replacement
Plans dating back to the 1909 Plan of Chicago envisioned a superhighway along Congress Street, later realized as Interstate 290, also known as the "Eisenhower." In the early 1930s, proposals emerged to replace both the main line and Garfield Park branch with rapid transit integrated into this highway corridor. Approval for constructing both the expressway and accompanying "Congress Line" was granted in 1940 and officially authorized in 1946. Between 1951 and 1954, agreements among CTA, Chicago city officials, Cook County, and Illinois secured funding and ownership arrangements that led to construction commencement.
On December 9, 1951, modifications to Garfield Park and Douglas Park lines were implemented: several stations closed and weekday skip-stop service featuring "A" and "B" trains began; however, Kedzie remained an all-stop station. Service on the "L" to Wells Street Terminal ceased at this time, leaving only CA&E trains serving that terminal.
By September 1953, temporary street-level tracks replaced Garfield Park "L" trackage between Sacramento Boulevard and Aberdeen Street, eliminating intermediate stops between Kedzie and Halsted. Westbound trains transitioned on September 20; eastbound followed on September 27. The CA&E, facing financial challenges, declined to operate on these at-grade tracks due to safety issues and potential delays caused by traffic signals; it also doubted its ability to reroute trains into the expressway median. Despite speculative proposals and regulatory refusal to permit bus substitution for rail service, CA&E discontinued service east of Des Plaines on September 20.
Garfield Park rapid transit operations concluded on June 22, 1958. The replacement line includes Kedzie–Homan station, situated near where Kedzie station once stood.
Operations
At the outset, Metropolitan trains operated at six-minute intervals between 6 a.m. and 6:30 p.m., with service every ten minutes during overnight hours; the average velocity was . By 1898, nighttime service frequencies were reduced to thirty-minute intervals on each branch.
The CA&E designated Kedzie as a stop for westbound passengers boarding and eastbound passengers disembarking; to prevent direct competition with the "L," boarding eastbound at Kedzie and disembarking westbound within the "L" network were not allowed.