Canal station (CTA Metropolitan Main Line)

CANAL   500W 300S
Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	324–326 South Canal Street Chicago, Illinois[1]
Coordinates	41°52′38″N 87°38′23″W / 41.8773°N 87.6397°W / 41.8773; -87.6397
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority (1947–1958) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924–1947) See text before 1924
Line(s)	Metropolitan main line Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4 tracks
Connections	Union Station
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Bicycle facilities	Yes
History
Opened	May 6, 1895
Closed	June 22, 1958
Rebuilt	1922
Key dates
August 1, 1927	CA&E service introduced
February 25, 1951	Logan Square and Humboldt Park service discontinued
September 20, 1953	CA&E service discontinued
April 4, 1954	Douglas Park service discontinued
Passengers
1957	2,089,044  10.19% (CTA)
Rank	23 out of 133
Former services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Halsted toward Marshfield Metropolitan main line Franklin Street Terminal Closed 1897 Terminus Wells Street Terminal Closed 1951 Terminus Franklin/Van Buren Closed 1955 toward Loop (LaSalle/Van Buren) Preceding station Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad Following station Marshfield Avenue toward Wheaton Main Line Chicago One-way operation
Location

Canal was a rapid transit station located on the Metropolitan main line of the Chicago "L" that was in service from 1895 to 1958, when the entire main line was replaced by the Congress Line located in the median of the nearby Eisenhower Expressway. Starting in 1927, the interurban Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad (CA&E) also served the station, continuing until 1953. The station connected with Chicago's Union Station, which was one of the city's rail terminals. One of the busiest stations on the Metropolitan's routes, and of the "L" in general, it opened a second entrance on Clinton Street in 1914.

The Metropolitan operated a vast network of routes across Chicago's west side, including three branches – the Douglas Park, Garfield Park, and Logan Square branches – diverging from its main line. It operated, with interruptions and financial issues, until it handed operations to Chicago Elevated Railways (CER) in 1911, and formally merged into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) in 1924. The "L" was taken over by the publicly-held Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947.

Substantial revisions to the lines that had been constructed by the Metropolitan had been planned since the 1930s; all told, they would replace the Logan Square branch with a subway to go directly downtown and substitute a rapid transit right of way in the median of the Congress Superhighway for the main line and Garfield Park branch. This was largely complete by the 1958 opening of the Congress Line, which includes a station on Clinton Street near the site of Canal.

Canal was located on the four-track main line and had two island platforms in common with other stations on the main line.