A new glass-and-steel transit station by Ross Barney Architects returns the ‘L’ to a Chicago neighborhood transitioning from skid row to lofts and the good life.
The new CTA station at Morgan and Lake features two stair towers flanking the elevated rail line.
The stair towers’ glass enclosure is covered in perforated stainless steel panels to prevent graffiti. Only the elevator cores were left simply glazed. “Those are all exposed,” Ross Barney explains, “because if people can be seen, then they feel safer.”
The station’s two elevated platforms are connected by a pedestrian bridge. Polycarbonate-and-painted-steel canopies provide shelter from the elements for those waiting for their trains.
