Category Archive: Damen Brown Line

February 24th, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 1

CTA Reroutes the Wilson 145 – No Damen Stop

CTA bus Pictures, Images and Photos

Despite the fact that the Damen Brown Line station also is where we can easily pick up the Wilson 145 bus, I usually walk to the beginning of the line at Ravenswood and Wilson. This allows me time to sit down and relax until my stop. When I arrived, there was a bus at the depot but instead of facing south, where they then would turn east onto Wilson and ultimately go downtown, this one was facing north. The driver just said there was a route change and they no longer go under the viaduct, and that’s all she knew.

The bus went north on Ravenswood to Lawrence Avenue, then east on Lawrence Avenue to Ashland, where it traveled south until Wilson. At that point it turned east and began to resemble the old route. What was missing is that the bus no longer made the turn up Damen to pick up passengers from the Damen Brown Line.

For anyone needing to travel south and towards the lake after being on the Brown Line, boarding the Wilson 145 from the Damen station was a great solution. Now anyone needing to go east from the Damen Brown Line will now have to walk or take a bus north to Lawrence, take that bus far enough east and they can now catch the bus that they used to only have to depart from the train station from.

Another option is to just walk to Lawrence, wait for the Lawrence bus, and then end up taking another bus to go south. For the hearty and hale, the walk to Lawrence is no big issue. For anyone with health issues, or the elderly, or someone who does not have a car and takes public transportation to do shopping (that would be me!), this is really not a very customer centered move.

Instead of making it easier for commuters, this reroute has made it more difficult. Instead of taking a train to a bus, many commuters will now have to take a train and two buses. This is definitely not focusing on the customer.

The CTA alert is posted here:
http://www.chicago.transitchicago.com/travel_information/alert_detail.aspx?AlertId=920

It started today, to a date TBD. Hopefully this aversion to the Damen Brown Line will end soon.

Postscript: 2-27-09
Today I received an email from my Alderman, who is Alderman Schulter. He provided far more information than the the CTA had made available.

I met yesterday with representatives from the Chicago Transit Authority to discuss the recent emergency changes on the 145 and 148 bus routes. I have heard from a number of you expressing your concerns about the changes and wanted to let you know that I share your concerns.Both bus routes used to extend to Damen Avenue, allowing riders to access the Damen Brown Line station and the Levy Senior Center on Damen.

The CTA recently had to pull two hundred articulated busses out of service due to safety concerns. The new busses being utilized on these routes cannot go through the viaduct at Ravenswood and Wilson–forcing the CTA to make the turn around at Ravenswood instead of at Damen.I was assured that this change is temporary and that as soon as the busses are back in service, the original routes can be restored. I will continue to monitor this situation and keep you informed.

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cta, Damen Brown Line, wilson 145 bus
February 1st, 2009
post by tamalechica | | 2

Damen Brown Line SuitCase Traveler Art

One of the nice things about the Damen Brown Line Station reconstruction is that they did not tear down the small little building that served as both the entrance and the exit. Those of us who used this station regularly before the 13 month closing will remember the building also housed a little convenience store and area for CTA personnel.

Now it sports an updated look on the inside, with smooth white tiles on the inside walls and an updated floor. Perhaps one of the most fun things now about this area is the art, which is comprised of recycled suitcases and briefcases. They are both functional, as seating, and fun, as we get a glimpse of what luggage used to look like, big, made of leather, made to last, and undoubtedly heavy and without wheels.

The general theme is travel, and there is a fun surprise on each piece. Notice the little blue figure on top?


Here’s a close up of the traveler.


And more art and close ups:

At the Damen Brown Line Station, per the CTA press release, “artist Ron Baron has created functional artwork for the platforms that includes furniture made from briefcases that CTA customers can sit on for added convenience. ” The pieces are fun enough on their own to come take a look see!
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Damen Brown Line, miniature art, ron baron, suitcase art, traveler art
December 19th, 2008
post by tamalechica | | 2

Damen Brown Line Station – Open!

It’s been closed for so long that I almost forgot what the building entrance to the Damen Station looked like! It was nice to see it open. They kept the old brown building intact as an entrance. However, except for the exterior face, the little brown building is no longer exposed to the outside elements.

With the brick cleaned and restored, it was nice to see the beauty of the old station house and even nicer to see the words, “Damen” and “Open” on the same sign.

Remember the old, rusty girders? Here is the new look, lacking the rust that made anyone wonder how structurally sound they were.

New signs in English and Braille greet the passengers. I like the signs, as I have never been a fan of trudging up the stairs hauling groceries only to realize that I should be on the “other” platform! Of course now we also have elevators.


Here’s a peek into the old station house where passengers would go through the turnstyles and buy their bus cards or add money to their fare cards. The shiny cream and vanilla colored bricks were pretty. There was a woman doing an interview with a cameraman so I couldn’t go into the room to take more photos.
This is the outside of the building, on the north wall. Back in time, before they closed the station in November 2007, this wall was the outside of the building and was adjacent to a dry cleaners. That building was torn down for this construction project.

This space is where the dry cleaners used to be, and it houses a bike rack. I’m sure this will be a welcome addition for cyclists who have had to leave their bikes chained out front before, occasionally gifted with a bit of pigeon poo.
The new lights at the station:
And here’s a picture of the new platform.

And our favorite site, the train coming around the bend to the Damen station!
Notice how well maintained the platform is? I always noticed that the crew that did maintenance at this station before it was redone did a very good job. Damen never had that eau de urine ‘scent’ that plagued some of the other stations. Props to the guys that did such a good job, and welcome back! This photo was taken around 1:00 PM today. I understand that some of the crew started at 3:00 AM to clean the platforms and sidewalks. They did a much better job than many property owners did!!
PS Posting on 2-21-09: If you’re not running late, check out the Suitcase Traveler Art when you’re at the Damen Brown Line Station. :-)
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brown line reconstruction, cta, Damen Brown Line

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