Quincy

My El Station at work was was recently featured in Time Out Chicago's "What's Up With That?":


Q Why does the CTA’s Quincy/Wells station look so old-timey? Every time I’m there, I half expect to see some Dickensian orphan selling newspapers.

The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Illinois State Historic Preservation Office teamed up in the 1980s to protect the Loop Elevated from being replaced by subway trains. To be included in the National Register of Historic Places, the CTA was required to restore one of the El stations to its original appearance. The Quincy/Wells stop, which opened in 1897 in the southwest corner of the Loop, was selected because it was one of the few surviving original Loop stations. Under the guidance of an architectural historian, layers of paint were removed to reveal the original brown shade, and the entire structure was repainted to match. Retro light fixtures and bulbs were installed, and the original oak doors and moldings were restored. Replicas of Victorian-era ads were installed, providing commuters a nostalgic thrill. Most of the current structure is original, though, including the fare booths. The $2.25 million project, which began in November 1985, was supposed to last only four months but took seven times longer to complete—like so many CTA projects since.