“The stately Beaux-Arts looks of the Uptown Station can’t help but grab your eye at Wilson Avenue and Broadway in the Uptown neighborhood. The structure’s doorway is flanked by medallions draped with floral garlands, a clock and lanterns set into the arched top.
“Uptown Station is a stunning relic of the 1920s, when getting around the city and suburbs by train was the norm and the neighborhood was a stylish place to be.
“But the building didn’t look this good for its entire 102-year history. In fact, that arched top, the pediment, is a late 2010s recreation. There was an arch like this on the station when it opened in 1923, but it was chopped off in the 1950s.
“The structure has been through a lot, including standing mostly vacant since its restoration was completed in February 2018. Part of the $203 million redesign and rebuild of the Red Line’s Wilson Station entailed shifting the tracks a short distance west. The main entrance to the Red Line now sits on the other side of Wilson Avenue.
“In May 2018, CTA officials signed a lease with the Chicago Market, a grocery cooperative that at the time said it would take about 18 months to build out the space — meaning it would open sometime in 2020.
“Now, in 2025, Grant Kessler, the board’s president, told WBEZ’s Reset the establishment is ‘working hard to be open by the end of the year.’
“In 2022, the Chicago City Council approved granting $5.8 million in TIF funds for the project, and Kessler said there are loans and investments from the co-op’s members, in amounts he wouldn’t specify.
“Inside, while most of the space will be new store fixtures and finishes, there’s one great relic of the old station preserved: the wide, red terrazzo staircase that once led passengers up to the trains. Flanked by high pillars with more floral garlands like the ones on the exterior, the stairs lead to nowhere now. Their top was chopped off when the tracks they led to were moved, but the lower portion remains as a reminder of what used to be. Kessler said the stairs will be cushioned and used as seating, either for groups such as school kids coming to hear farmers talk about their work, or for individuals eating food they’ve picked up in the store.
“Saving this old station was appropriate, not only because it’s a nicely detailed piece of the neighborhood, but because it embodies a surprising amount of history.
“There’s been a rail station here since 1900, originally serving the Northwestern Elevated Railroad. Three came before this one. Both the second station, built in 1907, and this present one, the fourth, built in 1923, were by Arthur Uranus Gerber.
“Bringing Gerber’s Uptown Station back to life is a fitting tribute to a man who designed so many in his day. The structure is officially known as the Gerber Building, even though ‘Uptown Station’ is emblazoned on that corner entrance in big green letters.” (Rodkin and Simons, WBEZ Chicago, 3/10/25