Now that CTA riders are enjoying the recently-opened Washington-Wabash station, the city has already revealed plans to renovate another woefully out-of-date train platform in the Loop. Yesterday, the Mayor's Office announced that the city has received a $56.9 million federal grant to modernize the State-Lake station, overlooking the Chicago Theatre. Originally built in 1895, the station is the second-busiest in the Loop, with 3.1 million annual entries.
No plans have been drawn up yet, but the renovations will include widening the platforms on either side of the tracks and the installation of an elevator to make the station ADA compliant. The Chicago Department of Transportation will issue a request for proposals for the project by the end of the year, though it's unclear when construction would start and when the station would be finished.
After seeing the completed Washington-Wabash station, we're looking forward to seeing what kind of futuristic designs architects come up with for one of the Loop's most prominent above-ground stations. We have just one simple request: We still want to be able to snap photos of the Chicago Theatre marquee from the new platform.