Photos: A Rare Glimpse Of The Historic Wilson Red Line Station Amid Construction

By Stephen Gossett in News on Oct 4, 2016 7:53PM

Last Tuesday, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA officials announced that the immense, $203 million reconstruction of the Wilson Red Line Staton had reached its halfway point. Ultimately, the stop will become a new transfer point between Red and Purple Lines; and after the current third phase of construction begins, the historic Uptown stop will feature a rebuilt track structure and fully renovated station house.

Two days prior to that press conference, on Sunday, Sept. 25, local photographer Matt Tuteur was able to slip into the site and document the surroundings—including the decades-dormant substation and the old, unused platform. Tuteur has shared his photographs of the historic space with Chicagoist, which you can see in the gallery above. (Note: Trespassing on restricted area is illegal, so please don't try to follow suit.)

Some of what's pictured is already gone. For instance, demolition of one track began the very next day after Tuteur photographed. But it affords a unique and rare view into one of city's most notable transit structures and one it's largest-scale public-use development enterprises.