A look south on the platform. Armitage happens to be where the Red Line splits from the Brown Line tracks (the southern connection is at Fullerton, the next stop north on the Brown Line).
Now that I'm settled in Chicago... it's time to resume the CTA content! Wait, resume? Yep, I did Merchandise Mart back in December of last year shortly after an earlier visit to Chicago. Where do I start? Armitage, because why not? It's close to where I live now and I had the chance to test out the Divvy bikes in Chicago on my way back home.
Armitage is your standard L station (that is, an elevated L station) for the Brown Line. I quite like the Brown Line stations. They are some of the oldest parts of the CTA network, and Armitage was first opened in 1900. In the street grid, Armitage is at 2000 N and 1000 W. Purple Line express rush-hour trains also stop here as well.
A look south on the platform. Armitage happens to be where the Red Line splits from the Brown Line tracks (the southern connection is at Fullerton, the next stop north on the Brown Line).
It's a modern rapid transit station, and the platforms are fully high-level (this is rapid transit, and not... I don't know... the MBTA Green Line). The station was renovated in the mid-2000s to provide full accessibility to the station. These stations are nice with the wooden platforms, really shows the older age of the CTA, but the platforms hold up well. While I don't have a photo of it, the platform is partially sheltered. There are some benches as well.
The entrance to Armitage (like many other CTA stations) includes a small headhouse on street level. These provide a sheltered area with ticket machines, fare gates, countdown clocks (because Armitage does not have them on the platforms), and a staff booth.
The Brown Line's neighboorhoods are like Boston's South End. We have the brownstones on side streets a little ways outside of downtown, local and very good business, elevated trains (wait a minute...). This is the view from Armitage station, looking west at the intersection with Sheffield Ave.
This neighborhood is why I chose to resume the CTA posts with Armitage. I could have done any other L station or bus route to start with, but the neighborhood around Armitage (and other Brown Line stops) are really nice. Armitage just happens to have a good handful of businesses around it, and it's not a bad road to attempt to cross as well.
Posted: Sep 6, 2022 19:44
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