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Kedzie (CTA Brown Line)
Encyclopedia
Kedzie is an 'L'
station on the CTA's
Brown Line
. It is a surface level station located in Chicago's
Albany Park
neighborhood at 4648 North Kedzie, with an auxiliary entrance at 4649 North Spaulding Avenue. The adjacent stations are Kimball
, the terminus of the line about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the north west, and Francisco
, which is located about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the east.
This station was the site of a fatal 1977 accident involving an intoxicated Korean immigrant who was electrocuted by the third rail
while attempting to urinate on the track. The CTA was found 50% responsible and the $1.5 million judgment against them was eventually affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1992. The majority opinion
noted that there was evidence before the trial court that this particular stretch of railroad line is one of the only railroad lines in the United States that uses an unprotected, unguarded, and unfenced third rail.
Kedzie Station was originally constructed in 1906/07 as part of Northwestern Elevated Railroad
's Ravenswood line. The station house was replaced in 1975, and the whole station was demolished and rebuilt in 2006 as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. The new station, which opened on August 16, 2006, can support eight railcars, and is ADA
compliant. On October 1, 2009, the parking lot for this station was closed.
Chicago 'L'
The L is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority...
station on the CTA's
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
Brown Line
Brown Line (Chicago Transit Authority)
The Brown Line starts out in northwest Chicago, at the Kimball and Lawrence Avenue terminal in Albany Park, where there is a storage yard and servicing shop for the trains to the east of the passenger station...
. It is a surface level station located in Chicago's
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Albany Park
Albany Park, Chicago
Albany Park is one of 77 well-defined Chicago, Illinois, community areas on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago. It includes the Albany Park neighborhood, one of the most ethnically diverse in the United States...
neighborhood at 4648 North Kedzie, with an auxiliary entrance at 4649 North Spaulding Avenue. The adjacent stations are Kimball
Kimball (CTA)
Kimball is the 'L' station at the terminus of the CTA's Brown Line. It is located in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood. From Kimball trains run south and then east to Kedzie, which is about one third of a mile away...
, the terminus of the line about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the north west, and Francisco
Francisco (CTA)
Francisco is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line. It is a surface level station with a single island platform, located in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood at 4649 North Francisco Avenue...
, which is located about one third of a mile (0.536 km) to the east.
This station was the site of a fatal 1977 accident involving an intoxicated Korean immigrant who was electrocuted by the third rail
Third rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
while attempting to urinate on the track. The CTA was found 50% responsible and the $1.5 million judgment against them was eventually affirmed by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1992. The majority opinion
Majority opinion
In law, a majority opinion is a judicial opinion agreed to by more than half of the members of a court. A majority opinion sets forth the decision of the court and an explanation of the rationale behind the court's decision....
noted that there was evidence before the trial court that this particular stretch of railroad line is one of the only railroad lines in the United States that uses an unprotected, unguarded, and unfenced third rail.
History
Northwestern Elevated Railroad
The Northwestern Elevated Railroad was the last of the privately constructed rapid transit lines to be built in Chicago, Illinois. The line ran from the Loop in downtown Chicago north to Wilson Avenue in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood a with branch to Ravenswood and Albany Park that left the main...
's Ravenswood line. The station house was replaced in 1975, and the whole station was demolished and rebuilt in 2006 as part of the Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project. The new station, which opened on August 16, 2006, can support eight railcars, and is ADA
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 is a law that was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1990. It was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H. W. Bush, and later amended with changes effective January 1, 2009....
compliant. On October 1, 2009, the parking lot for this station was closed.