Francisco is an 'L' station on the CTA's Brown Line. It is an at-grade station with a single island platform, located in Chicago's Ravenswood Manor neighborhood at 4649 North Francisco Avenue. The adjacent stations are Kedzie, which is about to the west, and Rockwell, located across the Chicago River about to the east.
History Francisco Station opened on December 14, 1907, as part of Northwestern Elevated Railroad's Ravenswood line.Francisco. Chicago-'L'.org (URL accessed September 2, 2006). It had survived relatively intact until September 2006, when the station closed for renovation.
Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project The Brown Line Capacity Expansion Project upgraded all Brown Line stations to be accessible to passengers with disabilities and extended platforms to allow eight car trains. Because of the historic nature of the station structures, Francisco Station was not completely rebuilt, as with the neighboring Kedzie and Rockwell stations. However, the platforms were rebuilt, an auxiliary entrance added on Sacramento Avenue, and the station house and canopy were renovated and upgraded. The station closed from September 15, 2006, to March 9, 2007, to allow this work to be completed.Francisco. CTA Countdown To A New Brown website (URL accessed September 2, 2006).
Following the station's renovation, a mosaic was installed along the ramp leading to the station house. The mosaic, titled Commuter Carpet, was created by British conceptual artist Ellen Harvey whose work also appears in the New York City Subway and Boston's South Station. In June 2025, the mosaic was removed by the CTA after more than a decade of weather damage, which caused a slipping hazard for passengers.
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References
External links
Train schedule (PDF) at CTA official site Sacramento Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View Francisco Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View