Day 65: The Music Platform

     Imagine that you work in the Loop, and you live up on the North Side.  While there are many ways you could get home, the most obvious choice would be the Red Line.  After you get off of work, maybe you go down to the Loop for while, swing by Pritzker Park and reminisce about that giant eyeball that used to be there, maybe you even see what's up at the library. Eventually though, you want to get home.  So you walk down into the subway, put your card into the turnstile, go down onto the platform, and all of a sudden you hear music.  You wonder where its coming from, and then you see it: a boom box/amp is on the ground, and somebody is either singing or playing music(or both).  You watch it for a while, think to yourself how lucky you are to live in a city like this, and then board your train that takes you back to your home and the rest of your evening.  My fellow Chicagoans, welcome to the Jackson Red Line station.

     The Jackson stop was part of the original State Street Subway project(as was Roosevelt), and opened along with the rest of the line in 1943.  During the construction, a pedestrian tunnel connection to the Blue Line was also put in, though that did not open until 1951(when the Blue Line finally opened).  Not much changed for the station over the next several decades, until the 1980s came and there was a push to renovate the subway stations.  Over the course of 14 years(from 1989 through 2003), the station was renovated in three separate phases.  First, the mezzanine level at Adams/Jackson was renovated from 1989-1991.  Then the mezzanine level at Jackson/Van Buren was renovated from 1996-2000.  Finally, the actual platform area received a makeover from 2002-2003.

     As part of this most recent makeover, the pedestrian tunnel to the Blue Line was given a refurbishment and updating.  One of the most obvious changes were red and blue colored tiles placed into the ceiling, symbolizing moving between the two lines.  Also, lights were put in at either end of the tunnel with a piece of either red or blue plastic in them to subconsciously alert commuters which end of the tunnel they were walking towards.  Some other tile work on the platform included placing the letter J in red tiling, again to symbolize the name of the station.  The renovation was officially completed on January 20, 2004.  Since then, Dunkin' Donuts has moved into a space on the Adams/Jackson mezzanine, and digital info panels have been added to the platform area.

     Over the years, the station's platform has tended to attract more performers than other stations, making it a very nice diversion for commuters and tourists alike.  After 70 years, the Jackson Red Line station has a bright future, and an even better taste in music.