Marshfield (1700W/400S)
Marshfield Avenue and Paulina Street, Near West Side

Service Notes:

Garfield Line/Douglas Line

Quick Facts:

Address: 418 S. Marshfield Avenue
Established: May 6, 1895
Original Line: Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad
Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: n/a
Status: Demolished

History:

The Marshfield station is seen looking west on the south platform. Note that the overhead transfer bridge in the background doesn't have a roof for reasons that are unclear. The oversized sign under the canopy describes the Westchester Express service. For a larger view, click here. (Photo from the CTA Collection)

The Marshfield station was opened in 1895 when the Metropolitan "L" first opened. It was the last station on the Met main line before it divided into three separate branches: the Northwest branch, Garfield Park branch, and Douglas Park branch.

The Marshfield Junction was a complicated place indeed. East of the station, just after the Laflin stop, trains crossed over a segment where two inbound and two outbound tracks become two paralleling double-tracks. Originally, Garfield Park and Douglas Park trains used the set of tracks on the south side; Logan Square and Humboldt Park trains used the set to the north. This arrangement carried over to Marshfield's dual island platforms, where those bound for the northwest branches used the north platform while those going to points west and southwest used the south platform. Immediately west of the station, the tracks forked into a Y with three two-track lines (cutting the roof of the Dreamland Dance Hall below into three slices) going north (Humboldt Park and Logan Square), west (Garfield Park) and south (Douglas Park). An interlocking tower was located at the east end of the south platform to control this junction. Enclosures were located at the west end of both platforms, under the canopies, which may have been waiting rooms or company offices. A station house was located at street level on the west side of Marshfield Avenue.

This postcard looks east at Marshfield station and junction. The single platform in the foreground was used by outbound CA&E interurbans. The Met "L"stopped at dual platforms beyond the transfer bridge. For a larger view, click here. (Postcard from the Graham Garfield Collection)

Marshfield station was modified several times over the following decades. The Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban, which used the Garfield Park branch to reach downtown Chicago through a reciprocal trackage rights agreement, also served Marshfield station from February 23, 1905 to September 20, 1953. The station was modified for CA&E service, with westbound interurban trains stopping not at the "L" platform but at a new side platform that was added west of the junction. A pedestrian transfer bridge was added at the west end of the "L" platforms connecting the two, with a third stair from the middle of the bridge connecting to the CA&E platform. A building was located at the east end of the interurban platform, possibly housing CA&E ticket offices or other methods of regulating traffic between the CA&E and "L" platforms. Eastbound CA&E interurban trains discharged passengers at the eastbound "L" platform to provide cross-platform transfers for many decades until the stop for rush hour trains was relocated from Marshfield to Ogden at the request of the CTA to clear up delays at Marshfield Junction. Boarding eastbound CA&E trains at Marshfield was prohibited.

The relatively short island "L" platforms were also lengthened over the years. Because of the junction to the west, the platforms were extended to the east, eventually enveloping the first floor of the interlocking tower in the case of the south platform.

In 1951, trains to and from Logan Square were rerouted from their Milwaukee-Paulina alignment to Marshfield into the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway, which continued under Milwaukee, under Lake Street, then under Dearborn, later connecting to the Congress-Douglas trains under Congress Street upon that alignment's completion in 1958. Garfield Park and Douglas Park trains to and from the Loop, however, continued to operate over the old Met main line and through Marshfield for the time being.

In 1953, the Garfield Line was rerouted via temporary grade-level trackage along Van Buren due to expressway construction, vacating the elevated and discontinued calling at Marshfield station. Marshfield was closed in 1954 when the Douglas Line was temporarily rerouted via the Lake Street "L" to the Loop. The old Garfield Park elevated was dismantled to allow the construction of the Congress Street Expressway (later called the Eisenhower Expressway) and the replacement Congress "L" Line in the median. No station was built as a direct replacement for Marshfield, though the Paulina entrance to the Medical Center station was just a block west of the former Marshfield station. Today, the Douglas branch connects to the Congress branch of Blue Line roughly where Marshfield station formerly stood.