Kostner station (CTA Congress Line)
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Kostner
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| CTA rapid transit | |||||||||||
The abandoned Kostner CTA station as seen along the Eisenhower Expressway
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| Location | 530 South Kostner Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60624 |
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| Coordinates | 41°52′24″N 87°44′06″W / 41.8734°N 87.7350°WCoordinates: 41°52′24″N 87°44′06″W / 41.8734°N 87.7350°W | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Chicago Transit Authority | ||||||||||
| Line(s) | Congress Line | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 1 island platform | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 tracks | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| Opened | August 5, 1962 | ||||||||||
| Closed | September 2, 1973 | ||||||||||
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Kostner is an abandoned rapid transit station in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The station served the Chicago Transit Authority's Congress Line, which is now part of the Blue Line. Kostner opened on August 5, 1962; it was the only station on the Congress Line which was not opened with the line on June 22, 1958. The station closed on September 2, 1973, due to low ridership.
When the CTA planned the Congress Line, they did not plan to put a station at Kostner. The Pulaski and Cicero stations were both close to Kostner, and the CTA felt that the lower population density of West Garfield Park did not need an additional station. It was also trying to cut down on stations in order to reduce travel times and increase efficiency. However, the Garfield Park line, which the Congress Line replaced, had a station at Kilbourn Avenue, and the Congress Line did not have a corresponding station. Neighborhood residents wanted the CTA to build a replacement station at Kostner Avenue.
In response to the neighborhood pressure, the Chicago City Council passed an ordinance requiring the CTA and the Chicago Department of Public Works to build a station at Kostner. However, the CTA did not build the station, claiming that ridership at the station would never be high and travel times on the Congress Line would increase. Residents tried to respond, saying that they would be happy with an inexpensive wooden platform and a staircase. Eventually, the residents circulated a petition for the station's construction and threatened to sue the Department of Public Works.
The CTA responded to the residents and agreed to build a Kostner station in 1961. The city also agreed to build the station, and the CTA did track, signaling, and electrical work. The construction was complicated by the Congress Line's operation; the city built the station between the Congress Line's tracks, but the line still had to run while Kostner was being built. The CTA solved this problem by creating two temporary bypass tracks around the construction site. Congress Line trains used these tracks from November 2, 1961 to July 8, 1962.
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