26th (2600S/1E)
26th Street and Wabash Avenue, Near South Side

Service Notes:

South Side Division, Main Line

Quick Facts:

Address: TBD
Established: June 6, 1892
Original Line: South Side Rapid Transit
Previous Names: none
Skip-Stop Type: n/a
Rebuilt: 1907
Status: Demolished

History:

26th Street was one of the original ten stations of Chicago's first "L" line, the South Side Rapid Transit. The original station building was a grade-level structure built in 1892.

In 1907, as part of an ordinance to allow the South Side line to install a third track for express service, all stations north of 43rd Street, including this one, were required to replace their grade-level facilities with mezzanine-level stations, clearing the alley beneath the tracks. This required relocation of the northbound platforms between 18th and 39th Streets and raising of the structure (with grades of up to 1.44% at some stations to compensate for the change in elevation) to gain sufficient clearance for the mezzanine facilities. The mezzanine facility was a fairly simple structure, constructed of sheet metal with simple ornamentation.

The station was one of 23 Howard, Jackson Park, Englewood and Ravenswood stations closed (including 18th, 26th, 29th, 31st, and 39th, among others) August 1, 1949 as part of the CTA's institution of A/B skip stop service on the North-South Route. It was eventually demolished.