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| Type: | Former Chicago 'L' rapid transit station | ||||||||
| Coordinates: | 41.8757°N -87.6268°W | ||||||||
| Structure: | Elevated | ||||||||
| Tracks: | 1 track | ||||||||
| Opened: | June 6, 1892[1] | ||||||||
| Closed: | August 1, 1949 (CTA) January 21, 1963 (CNS&M) | ||||||||
| Mapframe: | yes | ||||||||
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| Other Services Header: | Former services | ||||||||
| Map State: | collapsed | ||||||||
Congress Terminal was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", serving its South Side Elevated. It was located at Congress Parkway over Holden Court.[2] The terminal opened in 1892 as the original northern terminus of the Elevated; when the Loop was constructed in 1897, the terminal closed and was replaced by the Elevated's Congress/Wabash station about away. The Loop's congestion issues led to the terminal's reopening in 1902, renamed Old Congress to distinguish it from the Congress/Wabash station.
Congress Terminal was built by the Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad and was one of Chicago's original 'L' stations. On August 1, 1949, the CTA stopped service to the terminal as part of the service revision introducing A-B Skip-Stop service to the south side.[3] The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad continued to use the station as a baggage terminal until the line quit in 1963.
The name of the station was fluid over time. It was referred to as the "Congress street station" and "Congress street terminus" in 1892,[1] and the "State - Congress terminal" upon its closing in 1949.[3]
See main article: South Side Elevated. The South Side Elevated Railroad was incorporated in 1888, and commenced operations on June 6, 1892.[1] Its northern terminus was a station on Congress Street that was a one-track and one-platform affair. The congestion at the terminal was such that the Chicago Tribune remarked that:
The Loop opened, resulting in the closure of the Terminal.
The Loop became overcrowded, so the old Congress terminal was reopened in 1902. To prevent confusion with the nearby Congress/Wabash station, it was renamed "Old Congress".
Throughout its existence, the terminal was a single-track operation with a platform on its eastern end.
As originally opened, the South Side Elevated took 14 minutes to go between Congress and 39th streets, half the time the State Street cable car route took.[1] Service was 24 hours, with trains run every 20 minutes between midnight and 5 a.m.; every 14 minutes between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and between 10 p.m. and midnight; every 6 minutes between 7 a.m. and 8:30 a.m., 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 6:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and every 3 minutes between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m. and 4 to 6:30 p.m. during rush hours.[1]
A narrated 1949 view of the Congress Terminal