Tackling a tough site
Opened in 1856 and renovated in the mid-1980s, the Chicago transit station previously known as Randolph Street Terminal was an extraordinarily difficult space. Hemmed in by rail lines beneath and the street above, the station’s layout posed significant challenges. SOM utilized design, engineering, and lighting expertise to transform a critical but unpleasant downtown station into one that is easy and inspiring to use.
The unflattering adjectives used to describe the station were all ‘D’-words – dark, dingy, dank, depressing. But now, after an intelligently conceived, precisely executed renovation designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the Randolph Street Station has been transformed into a bright, open and visually dynamic gateway for thousands of Metra Electric and South Shore Line commuters.
