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Home<Chicago CTA<Pink Line<Polk

Polk (along with the name sake station on the Blue Line) serve the Illinois Medial District. Just north of the station not one, but two huge medical buildings were built with 'L' running directly through the buildings. The stop has two side platforms that were renovated in 1983. The platforms are completely covered by a flat canopy held up by white posts with beams extending over the middle tracks. Towards the southern end of station (at about southernmost car 2 or 3 if 8 car trains ever run on the Pink Line) the roof is fully over the tracks. It is here that a combined staircase/up escalator and an elevator leads down to a street level modern and large station house with glass walls. Here doors lead out to the one station entrance on the southside of Polk Street shortly west of Paulina. The staircases and escalators are along the side of their platforms and the platforms here become much wider with walls made of glass. The rest of the platforms have simple low white fences.

All photos taken on 3 August, 2011

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Looking across to the 54th/Cermak exit area
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The center of the loop platform and escalator/elevator off of it
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Approaching the early 1980s fare control area
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The Polk orientation arrow at the station entrance
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Outside the Polk station, the station is within an alley
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The simple glass walled and white roofed station entrance
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Up the stairs/escalator to the 54th/Cermak Platform
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Looking out at a parking lot for the medical district and a building built around the 'L' Line from the 54th/Cermak platform
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A crowd waits for a Loop-bound train
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A Polk platform sign
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A four car pink line train led by #3188 for The Loop stops in the station
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#3188 stopped in the station
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#3188 leading a 4 car train stopped in the station
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#3169 leads a 54/Cermak-bound Pink line train into Polk, that has just run through a building built over the 'L' Line
Home<Chicago CTA<Pink Line<Polk

Last Updated: 23 September, 2012
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