The 35th/Archer station facility is seen looking northwest across the corner of Archer and Leavitt on November 11, 2005. The bus stopped in front of the station entrance and the train in the platform above demonstrate the intermodal nature of the station. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

35th/Archer (3500S/2200W)
35th Street, Archer Avenue and Leavitt Street, McKinley Park

Service Notes:

Orange Line: Midway

Accessible Station

Park'n'Ride: 70 spaces

Quick Facts:

Address: 3528 S. Leavitt Street
Established: October 31, 1993
Original Line: n/a

Skip-Stop Type:

Station
Rebuilt: n/a
Status: In Use

History:

In 1993, the CTA completed the new Orange Line, built relatively inexpensively (about $500 million) using old abandoned railroad rights-of-ways, including those previously used by the Illinois Central Railroad, Santa Fe Railway and the Belt Railway of Chicago.

One of seven stations on the line, 35th/Archer is typical of the facilities designed and built for the line, originally called the Southwest Rapid Transit line before adopting the CTA's then-new color designation shortly before opening. The stations, designed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, are typical of urban design in general and transit planning in particular during that period. The stations are designed to be intermodal and encourage rail-bus transferring, with off-street bus terminals connected to them. Most stations, like 35th/Archer, were also designed with park'n'ride lots, owing to transit's postwar philosophy of sometimes trying to cooperate with the automobile to generate traffic rather than always trying to rival it. The station house is also set far back from the street, catering far more to the transferring bus passengers and park'n'ride users than to walk-in traffic. This has the effect of disassociating the stations from the surrounding neighborhood and disallowing the station from contributing from the streetlife and presence along Archer Avenue.

The interior of the 35th/Archer station house seen on November 11, 2005, looking northeast at the fare controls from the unpaid area. The interiors and finishes are very rectilinear, typical for Orange Line stations. The Dunkin' Donuts moved into the concession space in the background in 2005. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
Design of the station facility was performed by Roula Associates Architects, Chtd. in association with Wendell Campbell Associates, with structural engineering by Delon Hampton Associates and overseen by the City of Chicago Department of Public Works. The city encouraged the architects to use distinctive styles for the stations while conforming to a basic uniform layout and footprint.

The station has a total area of 11,700 square feet1 and includes a passenger waiting area, concession room, attendants and bus facility spaces and fare collection area. The station is enclosed on three sides with concrete retaining walls and a special ceiling to absorb the sound from the trains above. The walls are structural glazed tile for durability and easy cleaning2.

In front of the station is a large bus terminal and driveway, with the boarding and aligning bays covered by a box canopy. The station house has a long facade of glass windows framed by steel panels and mullions facing the bus terminal. The headhouse, most of which is situated underneath the concrete elevated structure, is topped with a steel box cornice. This cornice and roof extends west to meet the bus bay canopy, which is set perpendicular to and partially overlaps the extended station house roof, creating a continuous covered walkway between the station house and the bus terminal. In front of the bus terminal, on the corner of Archer and Leavitt, is a small plaza with a few trees in raised planters. On the corner, a tall blue identification pylon denoting the presence of the station was installed. This type of pylon was used at all Orange Line stations and was to become standard for the CTA , but with the exception of one installed (and since removed) at Dempster/Skokie they never proliferated and have since fallen into disuse.

The interior of the station house is simple and typical of all Orange Line stations. The floors are concrete and the ceilings are made up of metal strip panels. At most stations, the walls that do not have large picture windows are clad with simple, utilitarian tile. Bu at 35th/Archer, the architects instead decided to use the structural cast concrete as their wall surface and cast it with rough vertical fluting for its aesthetic. Finishes in the building, such as the grilles, sign boxes, and the agent's booth, are stainless steel and tend to rectilinear in design. The original turnstiles, replaced in 1997 with AFC Cubic-made TransitCard turnstiles, were also very rectilinear. The booths are significant in that they were the first specifically designed not to primarily function as fare collection facilities. Although there were still ticket agents at the time (called "Transit Assistants" on the Orange Line) and "Customer Assistants" as we know them today would not exist for another four years after the station opened, the Orange Line was the first to prepare for the time when fare collection would be more automated. The agent in the booth did not collect fares, though they did verify reduced fare eligibility and accept transfers, and functioned more as an information assistant. Fares were to be paid at the turnstiles, and individuals that did not have exact change could use one of the Orange Line's specially-installed token vending machines. Following the installation of the AFC equipment, these machines were removed and standard TransitCard Vending Machines (TCVMs) were installed. The station also has a concession space and originally had a payment station for the park'n'ride (later relocated to the parking lot). Two pairs of stairs and an escalator lead to the platform, as well as an elevator, making the station ADA compliant and accessible.

The platform is of the island variety, with a concrete deck and a full-length canopy. The canopy has a gable roof supported by two rows of square steel columns. The canopy extends out to the centerline of each track. The platform is outfitted with flat concrete slab benches and glass and steel windbreaks, shaped like an "H" if viewed in plan, with a panel on top that holds a station name sign inside a frame. Behind each stairway is another windbreak waiting area.

The 35th/Archer station is on a busy commercial street lined businesses in the McKinley Park neighborhood. The station is close to a residential communities as well.

In December 2002, CTA officials unveiled a security camera pilot program that allows the agency to record activity at four stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to deterring vandalism and aiding the Chicago Police Department in identifying offenders, the cameras will enable the CTA to observe platform conditions and ridership patterns, an important factor when determining schedules and service levels. CTA has strategically placed security cameras, monitors and digital recording devices at key points throughout four stations: Roosevelt and 95th/Dan Ryan stations on the Red Line, Kedzie on the Green Line and 35th/Archer on the Orange Line. On average, participating stations have six cameras and two monitors each. Activity can be recorded along the platforms, on stairways, as well as near elevators, escalators and transit card vending machines at the pilot stations. If the program is cost effective, a crime deterrent and technologically sound, it may be expanded to other rail stations.

In September 2004, Dunkin' Donuts, the coffee and baked goods chain, broke ground on seven new concessions in CTA stations around the "L" system. One such new concession was located at 35th/Archer station. "This is the first major concerted effort to open a significant number of Dunkin' Donuts stores in CTA stations," said Mike Lavigne, director of development for Dunkin' Donuts. All new Dunkin' Donuts /CTA station stores were scheduled to be full-service. The new concession opened in 2005.

In late Spring 2005, the station name signs and column signs on the platform were replaced, with Current Graphic Standard signs replacing the Modified KDR Standard originals. In Fall 2005, the blue identification pylon in front of the station was also overhauled and updated with more accurate verbiage and graphic designs. The pylon was refurbished and repainted gray, the CTA's standard "neutral" color (along with black) in the Current Graphic Standard for signage. The information panels were replaced with new ones with an extruded plastic CTA logo, station and line name, and what services are offered at the station, along with complimentary pictogram symbols. The original Modified KDR graphics of the station's backlit entrance signs were replaced with the newest Current Graphic Standard variety, listing the station's name, in January 2006.

Although the companies the CTA has contracted with over the years to handle their station and railcar advertising -- Obie, Viacom, and most recently CBS Outdoor Advertising -- have long had the right to install advertising frames and ads at Orange Line stations, this right was not exercised for over a decade, leaving the Orange Line stations ad-free, somewhat of an anomaly on the "L" system. CBS Outdoor finally fulfilled this contract option in June 2006, installing freestanding advertising panels at all Orange Line station platforms except Midway (where there is insufficient room). The panels are lined up along the centerline of the platform, between the already-present benches, trashcans, windbreaks, elevators, and stair/escalator enclosures.

On Monday, October 15, 2007, a new "kiss & ride" drop-off/pick-up lane for customers using 35th/Archer station opened for use. The kiss & ride is located in front of the station, on Archer Avenue.

 

35th/Archer station's platform, with its wide concrete platform and full-length gable roof, is typical of those built on the Orange Line. This view looks northeast on November 11, 2005. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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A bus waits to pick up passengers while a train drops them off at 35th/Archer in August 1997. (Photo by Jon Bell)

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The 35th/Archer platform, seen looking southwest in 1999. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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3200-series car 3279 brings up the rear of a northbound Midway-Ravenswood train stopped at 35th/Archer on March 18, 2001. Although the Brown and Orange Lines share the same car types, Midway-assigned cars (of which 3279 is one) don't have Ravenswood readings on their roller curtains, necessitating the use of the general CTA sign reading. (Photo by Mike Farrell)

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The 35th/Archer station house is seen looking west from Leavitt Street on November 11, 2005. The building primarily uses glass walls on the front and side elevations for a high level of interior visibility. The driveway in front of the station is the entrance to the bus terminal. The station has changed little since its opening, although the original blue accents on the cornice and posts have since been repainted white with orange trim. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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In Fall 2005, the blue identification pylon in front of the station was overhauled and updated with more accurate verbiage and graphic designs. The pylon was refurbished and repainted gray and the information panels were replaced with new ones with an extruded plastic disc of the new CTA logo at the top, the station and line name, and what services are offered at the station, along with complimentary pictogram symbols. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

35-archer07.jpg (168k)
In December 2002, the CTA unveiled a security camera pilot program at four stations, including 35th/Archer, that allows the agency to record activity at four stations 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to deterring vandalism and aiding the Chicago Police Department in identifying offenders, the cameras enable the CTA to observe platform conditions and ridership patterns. This camera and monitor are in the paid area of the station house, at the foot of the east stair to the platform. (Photo by Graham Garfield)
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A 4-car train of 5000-series cars, led by car 5136, is at 35th/Archer as part of a CERA fantrip on November 18, 2012. After performing a "photo run-by" of the station, the train is posed at the station for charter attendees to take additional photos and begin reboarding the train. The train is sporting a Purple Line Shuttle "Howard" sign for the pleasure of the railfans and for make photos for interesting. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

 

 

Notes:

1. Roula Associates Architects, Chtd web site, Accessed: 2007 November 16.
2. Ibid.