The Cermak-Chinatown platform, looking north on December 24, 2006, sports its newly-installed station name and column signs. The station still has its original aggregate flooring and plexiglas skylight "bubbles", now darkened after decades of exposure to the elements. The Loop skyline provides a satisfying backdrop as northbound Red Line train departs the station. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

Cermak-Chinatown (2200S/200W)
Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue, Chinatown (Near South Side)

Service Notes:

Red Line: Dan Ryan

Owl Service

Quick Facts:

Address: 138 W. Cermak Road
Established: September 28, 1969
Original Line: West-South Route, Dan Ryan Line
Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station
Rebuilt: n/a
Status: In Use

History:

The north entrance to the Cermak-Chinatown station is seen looking north on January 18, 1998. Skidmore's open design of the Dan Ryan Line stations is evident in how the stairs simply open onto the sidewalk without any formal front facade or doorway. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Linda Garfield)
The design of Cermak-Chinatown and the other eight stations of the Dan Ryan line were carried out by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill under the direction of Myron Goldsmith, who developed a modern, functional form in the late International style popular at the time. Improved visibility and security, ease of cleaning and more comfortable working conditions for CTA® employee were design goals. Skidmore took the Kennedy-Dan Ryan ("KDR") project in a unique direction, designing all aspects of the new lines to harmonize in both shapes and materials. All windbreaks, dividers, and ticket booths were stainless steel. The supports of the transparent platform canopies and the structures of the station enclosures are white-painted steel frames, and the enclosures themselves are glass. The formal and functional criteria were expressed in several ways: open, uncluttered, brightly lit interior spaces; durability, safety, maximum efficiency of movement; lightness and purity of structure. The shape of everything, from the buildings to the agents' booths, to the trashcans, followed together into a seamless design philosophy, which perfectly captured the boxy, purely functional International Modern style for which Skidmore is so well known.

The commemorative brochure published for the event describes the stations this way:

"Nine stations serve the Dan Ryan Line... Wide visibility and a high level of illumination are characteristic features in all areas. Fare collection equipment and turnstiles are stainless steel and... escalators supplement stairs for movement between station levels. Stations in the expressway medians are constructed of steel and glass providing maximum visibility from adjacent streets and highways. The boarding platforms are long enough to accommodate 8-car trains... Steel framed canopies of translucent plastic [extend] beyond the center line of the tracks. Self-service infrared radiant heaters are located at windbreaks on the platforms.

Off-street bus transfer facilities are provided at the 95th Street terminal and at 69th Street station by means of bus bridges over the expressway traffic lanes. An off-street bus loop is also provided at the Cermak Road station..."

Stations were spaced at between half-mile and one-mile intervals, reflecting an increasing spacing of stations prominent in the postwar period, with bus lines acting as feeders to the rapid transit line.

In terms of interior arrangement and design for the passenger, Skidmore generally followed the edict of modernist pioneer Mies van der Rohe that, "less is more." Cermak-Chinatown, like the other Dan Ryan stations as originally designed, has no real station house to speak of, only an enclosure that houses the stairs and escalator to the elevated platform. The agent booths and turnstiles are located at the top of the stairs, on the platform. The Dan Ryan and Kennedy stations were set up to allow Pay On Train operation during off-peak hours. Except for at a few locations (most notably 95th Street terminal), there were no concessions provided for passengers. Air conditioning and a compact washroom with a toilet were provided in the agents' booths. Restrooms were for employees only, although public payphones were provided. Stainless steel turnstiles, now an industry standard, were first used here. The amenities and traffic circulation fit with the architectural design of the station: efficient but purely functional. Stations were designed with wide walkways and no blind corners, with turnstiles and agents booths arranged for maximum queuing and circulation effectiveness.

The stations' design even formed a harmony with the 150 2200-series rapid transit cars that were ordered to serve the new Kennedy and Dan Ryan lines, which used the same design philosophies and basic shapes, and an entirely new system of signage with a redesigned typeface and clean graphic style (still used by CTA® today, in a modified form), making a fully integrated design throughout the entire project.

This glass and steel station was only about four blocks west of the Cermak station on the North-South Route, which closed September 9, 1977 by which time the station's patronage dropped to very low levels, probably affected by Cermak-Chinatown's presence.

The Cermak-Chinatown station is just a half a block from the entrance to Chicago's Chinatown. Given this nearby landmark, the stark, utilitarian design of the station's architecture is sometimes surprising to some visitors. Three decades after the station opened, the CTA and the adjacent community remedied that situation...

 

Station Adoption

In 2001, the CTA® added some Chinese identity to the otherwise stark and utilitarian Skidmore-designed station facility. On Wednesday, January 30, 2002, the Chicago Transit Authority officially welcomed the Chicago Chinatown Chamber of Commerce as the newest participant in the agency's Adopt-A-Station Program at the Cermak-Chinatown station. Participating in the celebration were Chicago Transit Authority President Frank Kruesi and Chinatown Chamber of Commerce President Ray Spaeth.

Graphic panels featuring Chinese-inspired artwork were printed on translucent film and added to some of the glass window panels, like this one facing east from platform in the unpaid area in Fall 2001. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)
The station features two tile murals with "Welcome to Chinatown" written in both Chinese and English. Customers using the stairs or escalator are greeted by a pair of lion statues, called "foo dogs," believed to protect against evil spirits, at the entrances. Garbage cans on the train platform are painted red and green, the Chinese colors for prosperity and longevity, with "Welcome" written on the side in Chinese in gold. Chinese artwork is also on display at the platform level. Graphic panels featuring Chinese-inspired artwork were printed on translucent film and added to some of the glass window panels in the unpaid area at the south end of the island platform.

Customers leaving the station see Chinese masks hanging on the walls. These masks are based on characters from Chinese opera and theatrical productions.

The Chamber of Commerce had help from community volunteers in creating many of the artistic pieces at the station. One of these volunteers was retired Chinatown chef Yuen Hing Moy, who wanted his contribution to honor his native country's past. So Moy, 67, chose to depict the Great Wall of China, built more than 2,000 years ago to defend against marauding northern tribes and one of the country's enduring symbols.

The Chinatown chamber also enlisted community youths and seniors from the Chinese American Service League to fill the station's walls and windows with paintings, masks, statues and murals that celebrate Chinese culture.

Chinatown Chamber President Ray Spaeth said the project could translate into increased revenues for the 200 shops and restaurants he represents. By raising the profile of the neighborhood, he said, more CTA® riders may be inclined to stop in Chinatown for shopping and dining.

 

Dan Ryan Red Line Rehabilitation Project

With few major improvements (though with a lot of patching) over its thirty year life, by the early 21st century the Dan Ryan Line was in need of a major overhaul. On April 3, 2003, the Chicago Transit Board approved a $4.5 million contract to renovate the 69th and 95/Dan Ryan bus bridges as well as the bus turnaround at 95th Street, signaling the beginning of the rehabilitation of the Dan Ryan branch of the Red Line.

The Dan Ryan Red Line Rehabilitation Project entailed upgrading the infrastructure of the line, including improving power reliability and delivery of that power, and providing station improvements to the seven stations on the branch north of the terminal.

The project was executed in three phases. During the first phase of the project, which extended from March 2004 to May 2005, CTA® replaced crossover track, installed a temporary signal system to support the track work and began third rail replacements from Cermak-Chinatown to 95th Street. As part of Phase II, which ran through early January 2006, the CTA® constructed two new substations and upgraded two existing substations, installing a new bi-directional signal system and replacing the power rail. Phase III improvements, which began at the end of June 2005, consisted primarily of station renovations. Work at the seven stations located between Sox-35th and 87th included refurbishing platform canopies, architectural components, escalators, station entrances and station houses, new station house and platform floor finishes, enhanced lighting, new customer assistant kiosks and improved signs. Cermak-Chinatown station was not included in the Phase III station program.

On October 7, 2003, the Chicago Transit Board approved a $192.5 million contract to rehabilitate the Dan Ryan branch, with Kiewit/Reyes, AJV (A Joint Venture) awarded the construction contract as part of a competitive bid process. The total cost of the Dan Ryan rehabilitation program was $282.6 million. Dan Ryan renovation work was completed in early 2007.

 

Red Line Wayfinding

The CTA® undertook a substantial signage improvement project in 2006, with work throughout the year and wrapping up in winter 2006-07.

Contractor Western Remac, Inc. won the competitively bid contract for the Red Line Wayfinding project. At Cermak-Chinatown, the project replaced the station name and column signs on the platforms, provided granite compasses roses in front of the north entrance, and mounted three-sided map/schedule pylons on the platform and on the street in front of the north station entrance.

 

The pedestrian bridge to Cermak-Chinatown, looking north in 1999. Up ahead are the fare controls; before that are the stairs down to the north side of Cermak Road. Behind on the bridge are stairs down to the south side of Cermak. For a larger view, click here. (Photo from the CTA Collection)

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The Cermak-Chinatown platform, looking south on the evening of June 25, 2000. Except for the blue tactile edging, the AV signs, and the red stripes on the columns, the platform is the same as the day it opened 30 years before. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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Cermak-Chinatown station sign. Despite the fact that it's a B station, the sign is blue. (B stations are normally green.) (Sign from the collection of Graham Garfield)

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Chinatown's gateway can be seen in the distance, looking southwest from Cermak-Chinatown's island platform in Fall 2001. The garbage can has been recently repainted to reflect local culture. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Trash bins at Cermak-Chinatown, like this one, were repainted red and green, the Chinese colors for prosperity and longevity, with gold Chinese lettering on the sides. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Transparent Chinese-inspired window mural facing west from platform in Fall 2001. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Chinese masks in small glass-windowed cases are hung over the stairs at the exit to the street. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Chinese lions guarding the entrance to Cermak-Chinatown station in Fall 2001. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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A newly-installed mosaic on the west side of entrance to Cermak-Chinatown station in Fall 2001. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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A newly-installed mosaic on the east side of entrance to Cermak-Chinatown station in Fall 2001. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Chicago's prolific Loop skyline can been seen from Cermak-Chinatown's island platform, looking north along the northbound Red Line track in Gall 2001. The tracks rising up beyond the station and turning to the east (right) are the original Dan Ryan Connector to the South Side Elevated, part of the Lake-Dan Ryan service inaugurated in 1969, now out of revenue service. (Photo by Eric Mathiasen)

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Red Line cars 2753-2754 wear an eye-catching full-body advertising wrap for Ball Park hot dogs featuring a royal blue background and large images of grilled hot dogs. The cars are southbound at Cermak-Chinatown on August 8, 2004. Although barely recognizable, the cars curiously feature destination signs for Roosevelt, a station the train has already passed. (Photo by Matthew Isoda)