Central - CTA Purple Line

Central is a Purple Line station in Evanston with a single island platform. This platform has a canopy for its entire length held up by simple and old white pillars. There are a few tired looking panels of artwork along the narrow platform. The station serves (a quarter mile west) Ryan Field home to Northwestern Wildcats Division I Football so the entrances to the station are slightly oversized compared to other Evanston Stops (the platform is the same narrowness). The main station entrance is through doors on the South Side of Central Avenue beneath the elevated structure. The station house was built in 1931 and is made of brick with a decorative terracotta front with columns, and Rapid Transit written above the doors in green letters. The glass above the entrance doors have gold lettering spelling out 'Central Station.' On each side of the entrance are large windows, these are for two unused concession areas that most passengers pass (there is a side door) leading back to a quite wide fare control area. This fare control area has a former cashiers booth straight out of the 1930s that is along the silver fence. There are just two turnstiles for passengers to enter the system through. These lead to a two staircases (with wooden walls) parallel to each other (with neat old To All Trains Lettering in between them). These lead up to an intermediate landing where they split into two separate staircases up to the platform towards its southern end. The staircases arrive on the platforms in their own little white enclosures with doors. Above the doors are old white on black enamel 'To Street' signs. There is another auxiliary exit at the northern end of the platform. Here a staircase leads down to an intermediate switchback landing that becomes two staircases down to two high exit turnstiles beneath the elevated structure slightly north of Central Avenue. What is notable about this exit is that walls are made of bare wood panels but with modern florescent lights.
All photos taken on 25 October, 2011

Page 1|Page 2