Ashland (1600W/3000S)
Ashland Avenue and 31st Street, McKinley Park

Service Notes:

	Orange Line: Midway
	Accessible Station

Quick Facts:

Address: 3011 S. Ashland Avenue
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, Ashland 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. 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 Ashland Avenue.

Design of the station facility was overseen by the City, who encouraged the architects to use distinctive styles for the stations while conforming to a basic uniform layout and footprint. 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. 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. The walls that do not have large picture windows are clad with simple, utilitarian tile. As in most Orange Line stations, the tile is white except for a very simple pattern that is unique to each station. 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). Escalators and elevators lead to the platform, 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 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. Likewise, 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.