Southport - CTA Brown Line

Southport is the first stop on the Brown Line's Ravenswood Branch after it leaves the North Side Main Line shared with the Red and Purple Lines. The stop is elevated on a private ROW not above a street. The station was closed for renovations under the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project from April 2, 2007 to March 30, 2008 that made the station ADA compliant and extended the platforms to become 8 cars. The station has two side platforms that are wooden, have Brown Line standard metal fencing and are canopied for about two cars in their midsections.

The station entrance is in a large modern station house with a brick exterior and simple white and cream tiled interior on the west side of Southport Avenue. Here there are first the turnstiles with vending machines and the Customer assistant booth within the fare paid area. There are murals on two of the walls: Green, (north) Yellow (south) by Elizabeth Fraiberg, Transfer-printed glazed ceramic tile, 2008. There is then a single covered staircase leads up to both platforms just beyond the eastern end of the canopies and elevator shafts that are at odd 45 degree angles to the station, and reach the platforms set back from the middle of the canopies at the odd angles.

At the western ends of the platforms are high turnstiles directly on the platforms (and an emergency exit gate) that leads to a covered staircase that goes down from each platform to an intermediate landing, curves 45 degrees and continues down until it reaches the staircase from the opposite platform four steps above the street. It leads to the west side of Southport Avenue across from the station entrance.
All photos taken on 1 August, 2011