The project will make the Loop ‘L’ station accessible and continues the Mayor’s more than $8 billion investment to modernize transit
Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Dorval R. Carter, Jr today announced the start of a major project to renovate the historic Quincy Loop station and make the 120-year-old station fully wheelchair accessible, while preserving its renowned historic appearance.
“The renovation of the historic Quincy station is the next step on the path to ensuring every CTA station in Chicago is accessible to every resident of Chicago,” said Mayor Emanuel. “In neighborhoods across the city we are reconstructing and reimagining the CTA with unprecedented new investments, and today we are undertaking another project that will benefit Chicagoans for generations to come.”
Among the improvements, the Quincy station will receive two new elevators located on the inbound and outbound platforms to make the station accessible to customers with disabilities. This upgrade will increase the number of Loop stations that are fully accessible to customers.
“Serving Chicago for more than 100 years, the Quincy ‘L’ station provides convenient access to and from Chicago’s downtown Loop,” said CTA President Dorval R. Carter. “By adding elevators and other enhancements, Quincy will be ready to serve 21st century riders while retaining its unique historical charm.”
The accessibility improvements are another step in CTA’s push toward 100 percent accessibility across CTA, a goal set by President Carter’s All Stations Accessibility Program.
Additional improvements include stair replacement, painting and lighting upgrades. The mezzanine-level ceiling will be enhanced with new, historic-style aluminum panels, while new light fixtures will be installed to complement the station’s original features. In keeping with the station’s turn-of-the-century look, the elevator tower exteriors will feature a pattern referencing the one present on the station’s historic railings.
Various elements of the original historic station, which opened when U.S. President William McKinley was in office, remain today—including pressed metal wreaths and fluted pilasters, or decorative columns, located on the stationhouse façade. Much of the station’s appearance has been restored over the years while retaining its historical character. This includes the ticket agent’s booth, which was faithfully replicated in the 1980s based on original 1897 plans and is still in use today.
The $18.2 million project is the largest renovation in nearly 30 years for Quincy, which was built in 1897 and is one of CTA’s oldest rail stations.
Last renovated in 1988, Quincy station serves more than 2.2 million riders annually via the Brown, Orange, Pink and Purple lines and is a major transfer point for 10 CTA bus routes, Union Station and the LaSalle Street Metra Station.
The project is the latest in a series of transit investments by Mayor Emanuel to improve transit in the downtown Loop, including:
- Washington/Wabash, $75M, opens Summer 2017
- Union Station Transit Center, $43M, opened 2016
- Loop Link, $32M, opened 2015
- Harrison Station Renovation, $10M, completed in 2014
- Loop Track Renewal, $53M, completed in 2013
The project is expected to be completed by the end of the year. For more information about Quincy station and this renovation project, please visit: http://www.transitchicago.com/quincy/.
Since 2011, Mayor Emanuel and CTA have announced, begun or completed more than $8 billion of transit improvements projects to build a 21st century, world-class transit system. The wide-ranging investments include about 40 new and renovated CTA rail stations, track and rail infrastructure upgrades, new trains and buses, technology investments including installing 4G wireless service in all subways and installing unique public artwork in CTA stations across the city.