LOGAN SQUARE — The Logan Square Blue Line station canopy is getting a makeover as part of the much-anticipated redesign project.
The city’s Department of Transportation is working with Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa’s 35th Ward office and community groups on the first major renovation of the canopy since it was built more than 50 years ago.
The plan is in the early stages, but officials want to replace the existing plexiglass structure with a sculptural covering with multi-colored lights and sky lights, according to new renderings. Local firm Jacobs Engineering has been tapped to design the project.
Neighborhood groups Logan Square Preservation and Palenque LSNA and the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce are reviewing the proposal, but the design shown in renderings hasn’t been finalized, city spokeswoman Erica Schroeder said.
Residents are encouraged to give feedback through Ramirez-Rosa’s office and the aforementioned community groups, Schroeder said.
A construction timeline will be finalized in the next few weeks after the city chooses a contractor, Schroeder said. It is not immediately clear how much the project will cost.
Initially, the city was only planning to repaint the train station canopy, but former transportation Commissioner Gia Biagi felt that “wasn’t sufficient for a project of this scale” and urged other officials to build something “a lot better,” Ramirez-Rosa said at a Logan Square Preservation meeting last month.
The new canopy is part of much larger, long-discussed plans to redesign the heart of Logan Square.
CDOT is rerouting Kedzie Avenue at the Blue Line station through what is currently the bus turnaround, which will allow for a plaza and more green space and “create a unified Logan Square,” officials have said.
The city is also reconstructing Milwaukee Avenue between Belmont Avenue and the square. Several years ago, the city was considering adding protected bike lanes near the train station, but the city has instead decided to go with painted lanes because they don’t take up as much space, Ramirez-Rosa said.
Construction on the redesign project — the Kedzie Avenue reroute, Milwaukee Avenue upgrades and more — is expected to begin later this year and wrap up in 2025, Schroeder said.
The transformative project, supported with an estimated $11.8 million in federal grants and $10-15 million in tax-increment finance dollars, is coming to fruition after years of planning and setbacks.
“The monument celebrates Illinois’ addition to the union in 1918 … We wanted to make sure that by 2018 we completely redid the square. We didn’t make it to 2018, but we’re going to make it to 2025, Classic Chicago. We’re ahead of schedule,” Ramirez-Rosa said at the Logan Square Preservation meeting.
The overall cost for the larger square overhaul also is not clear.
When the Logan Square Blue Line station was built in 1970, it was considered an architectural marvel, Preservation Chicago’s executive director Ward Miller told Block Club in 2018.
Architect Pao Chi-Chang, who worked closely with renowned designer Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designed the canopy to be a glass box — “pure white, very airy and lots of glass,” Miller said.
According to Miller, Chi-Chang was so passionate about the design that she lost her job trying to protect its integrity. When her team changed the design to cut costs, she snuck into the office and changed the drawings back, Miller said. The canopy went into production without anyone noticing the switch, but Chi-Chang was later fired once her team learned what she had done.
Over the years, the Logan Square Blue Line station has deteriorated and small changes have been made that go against Chi-Chang’s original design. The canopy was painted blue and the glass and steel pavilions were replaced with plexiglass.
The new canopy will complement “La Placita,” the plaza and green space being built next to the train station, Ramirez-Rosa said.
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