The Fullerton "L" station, looking west on December 27, 2002. The platforms -- of which the northbound is visible to the camera -- are original to the 1900 station, and the 1900 station house is still standing in the shadow under the structure. The station house on the left, emerging from under the elevated, was used from 1998 to 2006. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

Fullerton (2400N/1000W)
Fullerton Avenue and Sheffield Avenue, Lincoln Park

Service Notes:

Red Line: Howard

Brown Line: Ravenswood

Purple Line: Evanston Express

Transfer Station

Owl Service (Red Line only)

Quick Facts:

Address: 943-47 W. Fullerton Avenue
Established: June 1, 1900
Original Line: Northwestern Elevated Railroad
Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station
Rebuilt: n/a
Status: In Use

History:

The interior of Fullerton station, with its original ticket booths, ticket agent and turnstile, is seen here on February 2, 1904. The turnstile visible was a very early type used on the "L". The booths remained in place until 1996. For a larger view, click here [off-site link]. (Image #DN-0001802, Chicago Daily News negatives collection, Chicago Historical Society Collection)
The path of the initial Northwestern Elevated Railroad line, from Lake and Wells Streets to Broadway and Wilson on the what was then the far north side, was cleared in 1895 and erection of the steel was begun January 23, 1896. Several financial difficulties delayed construction several times, a few times necessitating extensions of the company's franchise. All-night shifts were eventually required to complete the structure on Christmas Day 1899, days before their deadline to begin service. But Fullerton and most of the other stations were incomplete December 31 and, after some finagling, another extension was obtained. Fullerton was completed in early 1900.

Fullerton station opened in June 1900 as part of the original stretch of the Northwestern Elevated. The headhouse was one of several stations built from a design by William Gibb on what is now the Brown Line. Architecturally, it is similar to those still at Chicago, Armitage, Belmont, Sedgwick, and Diversey. Constructed of brick with terra-cotta trim, the Classical Revival design was inspired by the work of the great 16th century Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio1. The bold modeling of the details, especially the columns and segmented arched windows, is characteristic of Italianate work of the late 19th century. The building, which is square in floor plan, features unglazed terra cotta pilasters with composite capitals on either side of the front center entrance and on either end of the front facade. The front elevation has a heavy cornice with egg and dart molding and other classical ornamentation.

The interior featured plaster walls with extensive wood detailing in the door and window frames, ceiling moldings, and tongue-in groove chair rail paneling. Nearly all of this detail remains today. The original 1900-built ticket agent's booths remained until the station house's 1996 fire (see below).

Wooden stairs on steel supports with decorative metal railings led from the Fullerton station house to the dual island platforms. Under the Northwestern Elevated's configuration Fullerton was an express/local station where both classes of trains stopped and passengers could make cross-platform transfers between the two. The outside tracks were the local tracks, while the inside tracks were for express trains. The island wood-decked platforms are covered in the center by two peaked-roof canopies of steel supports with a gently-curved bracket and intricate latticework, covered by hipped corrugated metal roofs. Originally, these covered about half the platform length, but the platforms were subsequently lengthened multiple times to allow longer trains to berth. The original railings, which Fullerton only had around the stairs and at the platforms' ends since there never side railings due to the island configuration, consisted of tubular railings and posts with panels of decorative, vaguely diamond shaped metalwork inside.

Fullerton station is seen looking east in 1960, with a northbound train of 6000s heading to Howard up above and two trolley buses, #9279 (A.C.F.-Brill, left) and 9700 (Marmon-Herrington), below. For a larger view, click here. (Photo from the CTA Collection)
Beginning in the mid-1920s, the Chicago Rapid Transit undertook a program to lengthen platforms on many of the lines to accommodate longer eight-car trains. Priority was given to major stations on the Loop and on the Howard-Jackson Park and Ravenswood-Kenwood routes, of which Fullerton was one. Circa 1925, Fullerton's platforms were lengthened, but because of existing buildings the two island platforms would not be lengthened in the same direction. The northbound platform's extension was primarily northward across Fullerton Avenue, while the southbound platform was lengthened southward. This made the platforms staggered rather than directly across from one another. The canopies were also later lengthened to cover most of the platforms. While the canopy extensions were designed to replicate the original design, examination of the latticework and supports reveals the demarcation between the original structure and the extensions.

When the CTA® implemented its North-South Route service revision effective August 1, 1949, the services at Fullerton changed somewhat. Fullerton remained an important transfer station, but the route structure was streamlined. Rather than a series of different local and express services, all Ravenswood trains became locals to the Loop, running on the outside tracks. All Howard trains became expresses (at least between Belmont and the subway), running on the inside express tracks. The Ravenswood service was also revised to only run downtown only during day and evening hours. During night and owl hours, southbound Ravenswood trains ended at Fullerton, where passengers could transfer to North-South subway trains to continue their trip downtown. On May 18, 1952, all Sunday Ravenswood service was discontinued south of Fullerton as well. Fullerton remained the south terminal for off-peak Ravenswood shuttle trains until October 29, 1961, when the Ravenswood owl and Sunday shuttle trains were cut back from Fullerton to Belmont.

Besides the service changes, 1949 brought other changes to Fullerton station as well. A set of auxiliary exit stairs were added from the northbound platform to the north side of Fullerton Avenue. A track stringer was removed and the canopy supports were alerted to make room for the stairway, which was enclosed with metal mesh grating and was controlled by an exit rotogate at the bottom of the stairs. A metal canopy was affixed to the underside of the elevated structure over the sidewalk outside the rotogate for the convenience of waiting surface lines passengers. The auxiliary exit was most likely added for the convenience of outbound passengers transferring from the "L" to the Fullerton surface line, which was converted from streetcars to trolley buses (seen above, left) in December 1949. Such improvements were often made to "L" stations to coincide with surface division improvements during this period to help coordinate and unify the two previously-separate services. Also added that year was a supervisor's booth at the south end of the northbound platform. This supervisor's booth was somewhat unusual, however, because it was elevated up on posts. With its floor 6 feet off the platform deck and the structure standing a total of approximately 15 feet high, became a uniquely identifiable part of Fullerton station (seen here).

Above: The original 1900-vintage Italianate station house. For a larger view, click here. Below: The new CTA station house, next to the original one, now vacant. For a larger view, click here. (Photos by Graham Garfield)
In 1983, a new neighborhood fixture and another unique part of the Fullerton station complex was added when the CTA® leased the space under the elevated structure across the street from the station entrance to a concessionaire. Although leasing excess space under the elevated to businesses and concessions for extra revenue was nothing new -- the Chicago Elevated Railways and Chicago Rapid Transit actively pursued this revenue stream by routinely constructing retail spaces under the elevated structure across and adjacent to "L" stations -- this venture would prove to be more controversial and would become part of Chicago culture. In 1983, the CTA®, led by by then-Chairman Michael Cardilli, awarded a no-bid lease to Peter Schivarelli, a friend and former Streets and Sanitation coworker of Cardilli as well as a former city Snow Command chief and 43rd Ward superintendent, who built Demon Dogs, a hot dog stand. For decades, Schivarelli also managed the rock group Chicago (which typically played over the stand's PA system), and a draw for many of the customers who stopped by Demon Dogs was to peer at the gold records and scribbled notes from band members. Schivarelli built the structure that housed the restaurant, which wrapped around the auxiliary exit stair, at a cost of $150,000, but paid relatively low rent for the space. For years, the CTA® also covered the gas, electric and water bills, but when the arrangement was made public the CTA® stopped, resulting in Schivarelli suing the Authority in 1998 claiming it was part of the deal for the CTA® to cover the bills. But while the DePaul campus and the Lincoln Park community that surrounds the hot dog stand underwent extensive changes and gentrification over the 20 years after its opening, Demon Dogs stood as a constant, with it's old-school Chicago-style charm and unassuming atmosphere, becoming and neighborhood and city favorite.

On January 30, 1989, Fullerton's traffic increased when Evanston Express trains began stopping at Fullerton, along with Belmont and Chicago, to help deal with increasing ridership at those stations.

The original station house continued in use and with relatively few alterations, including the retention of both of its original ticket agents booth, into the 1990s. Then on December 7, 1996, the Fullerton station house was gutted by a fire that started shortly after 4am. CTA® President David Mosena and the Chicago Police both stated at the time that arson was suspected. The station was closed until noon, when foot collectors were assigned to handle fares. Later, the CTA® token sales trailer (usually used at Taste of Chicago) was placed next to the station to handle fare collection.

The station house reopened on February 16, 1997 with a single agent's booth in operation. This situation was somewhat unsatisfactory -- Fullerton is one of the CTA's® busiest stations -- and continued for only a little more than a year. On April 13, 1998, a new fare collection area opened at Fullerton. A new brick building -- whose color and facade design are vaguely matched to the 1900 station house's, though not very closely -- was constructed to the east of the original station house and had adequate space for expanded fare controls. The original station was to be retrofitted and rented as a concession -- possibly for use as a coffee shop -- but was never occupied and stood vacant from 1998 to 2006.

The Fullerton stop serves DePaul University. Although Sheridan was the last station with a CRT-era blue-and-white enamel station name sign, Fullerton still had a vintage sign of the same type for DePaul University until 2005, when it was salvaged and removed ahead of the station's renovation.

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Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project

By 2004, ridership had exploded on the Brown Line -- an 79% increase since 1979 and a 27% increase since 1998 -- such that during peak periods many trains were at crush-loaded, resulting in commuters left standing on platforms unable to board the loaded trains, sometimes waiting as one or two trains passed before they were physically able to board. The problem in large part was that all Brown Line stations could only accommodate six-car trains (with the exception of Merchandise Mart, Chicago, Fullerton and Belmont, which could already hold eight-car trains), which, along with the limitations of the cab signal system, limited the line's capacity.

As a result, the CTA® decided to plan for the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project, the largest capital improvement project undertaken by the CTA® at the time (surpassing even the Douglas Renovation Project, which was the largest up to that point). The main objectives of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project are to expand the line's overall ridership capacity by lengthening station platforms to accommodate eight rather than six-car trains, rehabilitate rail infrastructure and stations, provide for station enhancements to meet the accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and upgrade or replace traction power, signal and communication equipment. By far, the largest part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project was the station renovations. Of the Brown Line's 19 stations, only one (Merchandise Mart) was not touched at all due to its modern construction (1988) and ability to berth eight-car trains.

This artist's rendering shows the street-level design for the renovated Fullerton station. For a larger view, click here. (Image provided courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority)
On April 13, 2004, the CTA® announced that it had officially received a Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). However, in May 2004, CTA® received construction bids for the project that substantially exceeded the budget. As such, the Chicago Transit Board voted on June 9, 2004 to reorganize the project into several discrete pieces to help attract more competitive construction bids. Station renovation work was modified and grouped into five separate packages according to location to help reduce the overall cost of station construction. Fullerton station was grouped with Belmont in a bid package. Station designs were also revised to reduce costs. Most changes concentrated on non-customer areas such as reducing the size of janitor closets, employee restrooms, electrical rooms and communication rooms. Other areas that were studied for cost reduction were standardizing common station elements, the use of less expensive materials, canopy designs and coverage, and temporary station closures to provide contractors better access to the sites.

The Belmont/Fullerton contract was the first of the reorganized station packages to be bid out. The construction services work for Belmont and Fullerton stations, two of the project's largest and most complex, were advertised for bid on March 11, 2005. The bids were within projected estimates for the work, signaling a successful start to the CTA's® rebidding of the station packages. At the June 9, 2005 board meeting, a $94.3 million contract for the reconstruction of the Belmont and Fullerton stations was awarded to FHP Tectonics Corporation.

The designs for Belmont and Fullerton stations are nearly identical. The project includes demolition of existing structures on the property and a realignment of the tracks and elevated structure. As a result of requiring wider platforms for ADA compliance, the width of the structure must expand and it will expend to the east, requiring several buildings on that side of the elevated structure to be demolished to accommodate the new, wider elevated structure.

A new station house will be constructed at street level on the south side of the street, where the current entrance is. The new station houses will be larger, with more turnstiles, TransitCard AVMs, and overall capacity to serve the number of riders that Belmont/Fullerton attracts. The structure will have a modern appearance, with steel and glass facades and an open plaza in front. New, wider stairs and elevators will take customers to the boarding platforms.

The 1900-built historic station house will be preserved, but relocated across the street to the north side of Fullerton. There, it will be restored and will serve as an auxiliary High-Barrier Gate (HBG) entrance to the station. The auxiliary entrance will provide better access and bus-rail transfers without requiring customers to cross a busy street.

The new dual island platforms will be wider, to accommodate the new elevators and stairs and to comply with ADA requirements. The flooring will be concrete, except over Fullerton Avenue where glass block will be used on the floor to allow natural light onto the street, decreasing the darkness caused by the "L" structure. The station's canopy, which will be 2-1/2 cars long, covers the platforms and some of the tracks, but is not a full-width canopy covering all four tracks completely. The canopy will have a steel structure with a peaked roof and glass roof panels, allowing natural light onto the platforms. Along the outside tracks, a precast soundwall will reduce the noise experienced by the surrounding community from "L" trains.

Other improvements include new lighting, signage, electrical, communications, and HVAC equipment.

Crews demolish the Hayes-Healey Athletic Center on December 19, 2005, seen looking northeast across the southbound platform from an adjacent parking garage. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
To make way for the new station (in particular, the relocation of the historic station house to the north side of Fullerton to serve as an auxiliary entrance/exit), Demon Dogs and the structure is was housed in had to be removed. At its monthly meeting on April 2, 2003, the Chicago Transit Board voted 5-1 to end its lease with the Demon Dogs hot dog stand. Demon Dogs had been scheduled to vacate its premises on October 31, 2003, but on November 11, 2003, the Chicago Transit Board authorized an extension of tenancy until June 15, 2004 since work was not yet scheduled to begin at Fullerton. However, any time after April 1, 2004, CTA® had the right to obtain possession of the property by giving Demon Dogs seven days notice to vacate. The Authority gave the stand a two-day extension, and Demon Dogs closed its doors for the last time at the end of the day on Friday, June 17, 2005 with little fanfare. The former Demon Dogs building under the structure was removed in December 2005.

Demon Dogs wasn't the only structure removal that would prove to be controversial at Fullerton. To make room for the new structure and platforms, which would be much wider (largely due to wider platforms governed by the presence of elevators and other ADA clearance requirements) than the old structure, four buildings on DePaul's Lincoln Park campus needed to be purchased and demolished. One, the Hayes-Healy Athletic Center, became the focus of a preservation battle to save the building. A Gothic-style gymnasium abutting the "L" structure, built for McCormick Theological Seminary in 1929 and purchased by DePaul when it acquired the seminary's campus in 1976, the Hayes-Healy gym was named one of Chicago's "Seven Most Endangered Buildings" by the Preservation Chicago advocacy group. DePaul, meanwhile, did not seem to particularly care to keep the building, but did have trouble agreeing to a sale price with the CTA®. After four years of negotiation and litigation between CTA® and DePaul University, a condemnation verdict was issued by the court arbitrator on November 9, 2005 requiring CTA® to pay DePaul $3.85 million for the buildings. In the end, DePaul had lost out: the CTA® had initially offered $7 million for the buildings; DePaul had sought $11 million. At the CTA® board meeting that day, CTA® Chairman Carole Brown directed that a check be written to DePaul immediately to facilitate quick transfer of control, so demolition could begin. Preservationists, who had hoped to see the building saved and moved out of the station footprint, or at least an attempt be made to preserve its facade, also lost their battle, as crews began razing the Hayes-Healy Athletic Center on Friday, December 2, 2005. Demolition was completed a few days before New Year' Eve 2005.

Above: Contractor FHP Tectonics lowers a steel crossbeam into place on the new Track 4 alignment at Fullerton station as a northbound Brown Line train passes on July 21, 2006. For a larger view, click here. Below: The new northbound platform and canopy structure are seen looking north on August 12, 2006. For a larger view, click here. (Photos by Graham Garfield)
With the necessary adjacent property purchased and buildings demolished, on-site construction of the new facility began in early 2006. During Spring 2006, construction began on the foundation and exterior walls of a temporary, prefabricated station house to the east of the existing elevated structure. Work also began on drilling the foundations and caissons for the new elevated structure along the future Track 4. By mid-June, the first new concrete column had arisen along this alignment on the east edge of the site. Reinforced concrete columns for the new Track 4 and northbound platform continued to be erected throughout the summer, and platform stringers started going up over the week of July 16. One week later, the contractor began erecting the steel framework for the new northbound platform canopy.

By the beginning of Autumn 2006, the new steel elevated structure for the new Track 4 had been erected, giving a good idea of what the envelope of the new station would be. The steel stringers and supports for the east half of the northbound platform, as well as the basic steel framework on this platform, were also in place. The temporary station house was also nearing completion, with the structure in place and the contractor finishing the build-out.

The temporary station house at Fullerton was brought into service at 1pm Sunday, October 8, 2006. At that time, the 1998-built station entrance closed and passengers entered the station through the new entrance approximately 80 feet to the east. CTA® personnel spent the late morning and afternoon relocating the turnstiles and farecard vending machines, while the Customer Assistant relocated to a new CA booth, which looks very much like the new, permanent ones installed at the rebuilt Kedzie and Rockwell stations just two months before. At the time of the temporary entrance's opening, customers continued to use the existing platforms to access Red, Brown, and Purple line trains. After passing through the turnstiles, passengers went out through a doorway on the west side of the building, then passed through a covered tunnel to the back of the old station entrance and the base of the existing stairs up to the platforms. Plywood walls protect the passenger walkways from the 1900- and 1998-built station areas, allowing work to progress on those areas unimpeded. The CTA® said the temporary entrance was expected to be in place for approximately 24 months.

Northbound Red Line trains resumed operating on Track 3, the inner northbound track, at Fullerton station on Friday, January 25, 2008. Construction crews completed northbound track work at Fullerton so northbound Red Line trains will no longer have to share tracks with northbound Brown and Purple Express trains. Northbound Red Line customers resumed normal boarding and alighting on the Track 3 side of the new island platform at Fullerton starting just after midnight.

Northbound Red Line trains will continue to share tracks with Brown and Purple Express trains at the Belmont station for another few weeks as work continues at that station.

The project's Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government requires that the CTA® complete the project by the end of 2009. In a separate agreement, the Federal Transit Administration requires that work to make the Fullerton station accessible be completed by the end of 2008.

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Fullerton's dual island platforms are seen looking north along the southbound Red Line (Track 2) side on September 3, 2001. The staggered alignment of the platforms and canopies are evident in this view. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

 

Old Fullerton (1900-2006) | New Fullerton (2006-present)

Old Fullerton station

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Close-up of signage at the Fullerton station, circa the early 1960s. The white rectangular sign in the lower right denotes its status as an AB Station. A 6000-series car waits off to the left. (Photo from North Shore Line, from Sunday River Productions)

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From 1931 to 1949, Ravenswood trains were through-routed to Englewood and Normal Park; from 1943, they made this run via the State Street Subway. Here, a six-car Kimball-bound train of Cincinnati 4000-series "baldie" cars pulls into Fullerton station on Track 3 (currently used by Red Line trains) in 1941. (Photo from CTA Collection)

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This view of the Fullerton station platform provides an interesting contrast between two types of trains: North Shore Electric Line cars on the right and cars of the CTA® 6000-series on the left. The destination sign on the CTA® train designates it as assigned to the Howard-Jackson Park route. Note the original shepherd's crook lights and old-style signs in the wooden partition. (Photo by Larry Plachno)

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In its 2400-style red, white, and blue livery, car 6288 provides quite a contrast to the 6000s ahead of it as it brings up the rear of a four-car Englewood-Howard "A" train at Fullerton on August 17, 1978. (Photo by Doug Grotjahn, Collection of Joe Testagrose)

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The Demon Dogs hot dog stand, a Lincoln Park neighborhood institution since 1983, sits underneath the elevated tracks, across the street from Fullerton station. Auxiliary exit stairs from the northbound platform descend in front of the restaurant. According to the CTA's plans for renovating Fullerton station, Demon Dogs will be evicted and the building demolished, with the historic 1900 station building moved across the street to this location. This view looks north on January 21, 2003. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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The amenities in the current Fullerton station house, seen here looking south on October 21, 2002, are basic: fare controls, farecard vending machines, and a CA booth are all that are offered, in addition to some soda vending machines in the paid area. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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The canopies have not been significantly altered from their construction in 1900, as seen in this via looking north on the southbound platform on October 21, 2002. As can be discerned here, the canopies are not actually in line with one another but are slightly offset. The dual island platform arrangement is typical of stations built by the Northwestern Elevated at express/local stations. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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Circa the 1980s, when Fullerton station received KDR-type signage, the platform received these "symbol signs". This sign's mention of A/B skip-stop service is now out-of-date, as A/B service was annulled on the Howard Line in 1995. The blue color of the sign comes from a color-coding of signage under the KDR scheme, with AB stations being blue. The use of the phrase "via subway" was somewhat unusual, in that most stations' KDR signage did not include mention of its particular downtown routing. However, here it is used to differentiate it from the route of the Ravenswood trains that boarded on the other side of the same platform. (Sign from the Andrew Stiffler Collection)

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Fullerton's KDR-type northbound Track 4 symbol sign is seen here. Long since removed from the station, this sign dates from before the Evanston Express service was modified to stop at Fullerton on Track 4 northbound along with the Ravenswood Line. (Sign from the Andrew Stiffler Collection)

New Fullerton station

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Work is underway at Fullerton station on June 4, 2006. In this view looking southwest, the new, prefabricated station house is seen under construction behind the fencing, about 80 feet east of the station entrance under the elevated structure. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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This overhead view on June 4, 2006 shows another angle of the temporary station house under construction and the rest of the work zone along the east edge of the site. The front and side doorways of the station house are evident. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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On June 4, 2006, the first row of new columns are seen southeast of the station from the south end of the northbound platform. The columns demarcate the outer edge of the new elevated structure at the rebuilt station. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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The interior of the temporary Fullerton station house is seen looking south from the sidewalk in front on June 22, 2006. The basic structure and underground utilities have all been installed. In the following months, the contractor outfitted the station house with the necessary interior walls, fittings, and build-out. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

 

 

Notes:

1. Bach and Wolfson, A Guide to Chicago's Train Stations, 222.