Harrison - CTA Red Line - The SubwayNut

Harrison is a relatively lightly used Red Line Station just south of downtown (It was just an A stop when skip-stop service operated until 1995) and has a single island platform for the two track line. The island platform has an arched white ceiling and arches around both of the tracks, with two lines of white columns on each side of the platform. The top of the white arches still have their original florescent light fixtures. The stop has recently received an unusual art project under the adopt-a-station program by nearby Columbia College and St. Joesph prep with Hikus printed vertically along the platform columns. There are prints of flowers along the arched roof of the platform. Similar decorations extend to the walls of the two mezzanines at the station entrances at each end of the platform.

The main entrance (which was closed for escalator replacement from May 11, 2009 until September 9, 2009) has a combined up escalator/staircase, still beneath an original red illuminated escalator sign leads up to a small mezzanine with turnstiles and the customer assistant booth. This leads up to two streetstairs on each side of Harrision Street just south of Harrison Street's slightly skewed intersection with State Street (the western portion is north of the eastern portion). The streetstairs are decorated in simple silver metal banisters with a simple red sign in the middle.

There is a secondary entrance at the southern end of the platform. This was original just an axillary exit but was closed in 1968 after a woman was fatally stabbed. The entrance was finally reopened on February 9, 2009 with two high entrance/exit farecard only turnstiles. A single staircase at the southern end of the platform leads up to this fare control area before a single staircase up to the SW corner of Polk and State Street. The streetstair is surrounded on street level by a large, black and glass decorative kiosk that generally are reserved for surrounding escalators. The underground portions of this exit have originally little light blue tiles including black text for the Dearborn Station (a building that still exists but hasn't received a train since the eve of Amtrak on May 2, 1971). This entrance was closed again from May 4 to 11, 2009 to allow two regular escalators, FVMs and a temporary customer assistant booth to be built while the main entrance was going under escalator replacement and closed again from September 16 to 18, 2009 (for a total of 41 hours, thanks http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/harrison.html Chicago-L.org Chicago-L.org) to remove the temporary regular turnstiles and return it to its original reopened configuration.
Photos 1-17 taken on 17 June, 2009, 18-20 on 1 August, 2011

The decorative but dark ceiling

A modern station sign along the arched platform wall

Staircase up to the auxiliary exit to Polk Street

Original Exit Text for Dearborn Station, the building still exists but lacks tracks

Sign for the entrance closures for escalator refurbishment

The small Polk Street fare control area two regular turnstiles and a temporary Customer Assistance Booth

The Polk Street exit has a decorative glass kiosk normally reserved for escalators

ADA CTA-Harrison Sign

The back of the decorative street stair into the station has a free standing side

One of the closed main entrances

A chain blocks the closed Polk entrance for escalator refurbishment

Approaching the now open main entrances

A compass for state and an open staircase at one of two main entrances to Harrison

The combined escalator/staircase the northern end of the platform was the only way to enter the station for many years