Addison
3600N
940W
940W
Addison is an important Red Line Station, it serves Wrigley Field, the Friendly Confines, a one hundred year old ballpark and home to the Lovable Loosing Chicago Cubs. The ballpark is in the middle of neighborhood and has no parking making the 'L' the main way fans get to games. The stop originally had two side platforms which required unnecessary switching for local North Side (now Red Line) trains to switch onto the outside express tracks interfering with Evanston Express (now Purple Line) operations for just one stop. In 1994 the station was rebuilt with a new generic station house nestled beneath the tracks and an island platform. Evening Purple Line Evanston Express trains used to stop here on game days until 2008 but the station's new layout of one island platform for the four track line required trains to switch onto the local track from the express track just to serve the station so the game day stop was moved one stop north to Sheridan an express station with two island platforms. That station is a 1/3 mile north of Wrigley Field.
The station has a single island platform with an oversized canopy held up by white posts. The station has the cubs logo all over it including on the signs in the squares that should be red opposite the station name and on station trash cans. The station has an elevator, staircase, an up escalator/staircase that leads down to a fairly large brick station house between the tracks that still got completely jammed after attending a Cubs game. Inside this station house is the usual bank of turnstiles plus an area with 4 openings in the fence just north of them where four mobile fareboxes that look like those found on a bus except on wheels are set up to collect fares from additional entrances after Cubs games. The station is decorated with 4 oil canvas paintings called Cubs Legends by Steve Musgrave. The station house has an entrance at each end. The southern entrance is the main one and leads from the north side of Addison Street, there is a northern exit that leads directly to an alley beneath the tracks so people can head north. There is an exit at the extreme southern end of the platform that leads to a high exit only turnstile down to a staircase to the south side of Addison Street across from the main entrance.
All photos taken on 1 August, 2011
