The long-awaited Damen Green Line station in Chicago is finally set to open its doors on August 5, as announced by the Chicago Department of Transportation. The station, located at the intersection of Lake Street and Damen Avenue, has been under construction and planning for over seven years. The completion of the station comes just before the city hosts the Democratic National Convention at the nearby United Center from August 19-22, according to Chicago Sun-Times.
This transportation project has seen its share of setbacks, including the pandemic and supply chain issues which pushed back an original opening date originally slated for 2020. Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) informed Block Club of the forthcoming opening. The Damen Green Line stop is meant to bridge nearly a one-and-a-half-mile gap between the Ashland and California stops, filling what some see as a historical gap in the city's public transportation map.
The $80 million project, up from an estimated $50 million during its announcement phase, was paid for through the Kinzie Industrial Corridor Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District. The new station boasts full accessibility features and amenities, including a 5,000-square-foot platform, a mural, escalators, elevators on both sides of the platform, and a pedestrian walkway over the tracks, as detailed by the Chicago Sun-Times.
Burnett believes the stop will serve as a meaningful addition to the local community, especially considering its proximity to the sites of former public housing such as the Henry Horner Homes. "The stop will serve the many who live in public housing nearby, workers in the medical district, elderly who can’t drive anymore and millennials who don’t want to drive or don’t have a car," Burnett had previously told Block Club. The much-anticipated station is expected to provide better access and connectivity to an area that was previously underserved by public transportation.
The site of the Damen station has historic significance as it once housed one of the city's earliest L stops, known as the Robey station back in 1893 until its closure in 1948, a piece of history shared by a Chicago Sun-Times report. The station was one of 10 along Lake Street that closed due to low ridership and in a move designed to speed up service at the time.
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