CTA – Diversey

***This CTA station lets out to the north side of Lincoln Park; like the other CTA stations, it is a convenient and inexpensive way to get around the city***
I am not sure what the parking situation is here; this station is a little outside the city so parking around here might not be that expensive.

This is my home stop but aside from that, I find this station to be consistent with other brown line el stations in the area which means it’s generally clean, safe and accessible which for a CTA station should warrant 4 stars. But here are a couple of minor «improvements» that would make this station better.
The first is the secondary exit on the northern end of the platform. The tall revolving gates are located at street level as opposed to platform level. This allows you to cross under the tracks to the other platform. (unlike the secondary exits at Southport, Paulina, Wellington, etc). Although this might be seen as convenient, I wish this exit could be used as another entrance. Maybe a farecard only entrance? There is even an existing structure which I believe is the old station house, so it would be nice to be able to enter from the Lakeview side and not have to cross Diversey where drivers tend to not yield.
Also, someone took the sculpture away which gives me a sad face. This is my home stop and the sculpture was called «Coming Home» I believe. So now, no art at this station. It’s just wood, metal and tall street-​level gates.
Now, getting back to why I give this a good rating boils down to general cleanliness and safety. Like most of the brown line, the stations are fairly free of urine smells and trash. Crime is very light in this area and this station generally doesn’t attract phone snatchers, purse grabbers and sketchy preachers (take note of this, Belmont). Overall, this station serves it’s exact purpose. To allow trains to stop, drop off passengers, pick up passengers and then putter along it’s way to the next stop with the added bonus of not having to worry about getting assaulted or being offered an ounce of rock.
Happy travels everyone

Diverse could use an upgrade, but the station has lots of character. one of my biggest complaints about it is that there isn’t much cover in the event it’s raining.

This less of a review but more of some simple feedback. The person that put these CTA platforms together did not really take into consideration the fact that not everyone dresses like Cybil Shepard in the 1990’s.
It frustrated me when my heels get ruined because they get caught between these boards on the platform. Come on ladies, I can’t be the only one this happens to???
Happy travels and safe stilettos to all!

ok take this only if you like to sit on a train and take a ride for that is what this one does stoped taking this one a year ago late for work almost every time i did. is one of the slowest trains in the city. can not see why people still use it. take a bus to red or blue your better off. have read some of the other reviews and they are all wrong some say are nice to take and easy if only right near one of the very few train stops of the brown line. clean maybe thos on north side but in loop paint and other things are found right on the stations at almost all the times unless they are redone every 2 weeks or so. brown line has fallen twice this year no one dies but still scares some to put them in the hospital. brown line this year has had 10 or more bad times when a train has come off the tracks. or gone head to head with a train. if you say they are safe you dont ride them enough to know how bad they are.

Using the brown line when visiting has always been a great experience. It is a bit of a hike from where I am staying, but it’s a nice walk and you have to cross your fingers for no rain (usually rains if you forgot your umbrella, but I digress).
The brown line is very convenient to get to places you want to go in the Chicagoland north area. It is pretty simple since the line just goes to the loop and comes back to Kimball.
It can get crowded during rush hours, but overall, the cars are fairly clean and the people that ride the train are mostly respectful.

I was taking the brown from Chicago to the loop for a couple of months and then I moved north, getting on at Diversey and travelling all the way down to the loop. At that time I just arrived to the States and was exploring the city paying attention to details.
First off, the loop is the central business district of Chicago and that means most of the riders you expect to see there will be young to mid-​age, nice looking and smelling gentlemen and ladies. Fact.
The train travels north passing successful neighborhoods which also means nice people,
clean cars and stations (never smelled that odor of urine like the blue line),
safety.
The line tend to be packed most time of the day. Lots and lots of pretty girls can make you enjoy your ride home even more. My observation is that majority of the riders are ladies.
Light casts shadow with the brown line attracting thieves and men willing to touch women-​riders.

This is about as nice as the Brown Line stops get. It is clean and doesn’t feel like it is going to fall apart, dropping you to your death on the street below. One thing that would make it better was if you could enter on both sides of the street.

Going home from Robo’s.
This is the closest stop from our friends place. So the wife and I usually take the walk of shame back early in the morning back to the suburbs. Its quite a trip but this station is «clean» and conveniently located like every other station in the city. Use the west side stairs to go downtown and catch the Brown Line to Armitage. Catch the 73 to the Blue Line or our car and then home.

I’m not from Chicago & I’ll start with that: I’m from a very small town. But I don’t usually attract attention and I think I was born to blend into crowds. Somehow that’s lost on the train lines in Chicago. On the green line, I feel too young & too female & white. On the blue line I feel too tall & «normal» — while the red line makes me feel like a weirdo to the north side. And the good ol’ purple line is a mixed bag so everyone but the dressed-​up professionals sticks out. I only rode the pink line once but I was stared at and so was my book: «Habibi» by Craig Thompson. Now let me start on this brown line business. It’s full of sad and self-​absorbed yuppies who not only want to blend in but they expect you to blend in, too. For crissakes, it’s the only line with what is it, like 8 – 10 single seats in every car? At least the red line was updated with some cyberpunk style.
Things that evidently aren’t okay on/​because of the brown line:
–Riding with a bass amp on your lap
–Reading the Communist Manifesto
–Going a convenient way around the Loop outside rush hour
–Getting within a foot of anybody
–Rush hour as a general concept
–Getting from, say, Rogers Park to North Center in under an hour
–Customers after 1:00 a.m.
(Ahh but there are still five stars, Caitlin, why is that?)
–The way the cars have to stop when the train crosses Rockwell
–The accent in the recorded voice: «Attention customers. An inbound train, tooooward th’ Loop, will be erriving shortly.»
–Tourists & DePaul parents saying «Paul-​een-​a» and that I can laugh at them
–That nap I took from Damen to Fullerton last spring (a short nap)
–The time I walked to Kimball when I was lost and the intercom when a kid (the only other person there) was poorly supervised: «Customer service is req– Customer service is required at the kiosk. Customer ser– Customer– Cust– Customer service is req-​«
–And I’m sorry but as someone who takes the red line downtown regularly, the view of the river on a Loop-​bound train is just too much not to mention.
If anybody sees Live Leaves by Unwound floating around in a Laurie’s Planet of Sound bag, that’s mine.

This is the best train line in the city. Clean, hardly any bums or scary people, and gets me to where I’m going. It doesn’t run 24 hours either which is another reason I love the brown line!!!

The Brown Line is one of the better CTA train lines in the Chicago area. It’s cleaner and less crowded than most of the other lines. The Brown Line also goes through some of the best neighborhoods in Chicago, such as Lincoln Park, Lakeview, and Lincoln Square.

I’m not going to sugar coat it. I had a shitty experience here last weekend — for lack of better words. I rarely carry cash and solely rely on my debit card. As I was unaware previously, if you plan on taking the CTA, make sure to carry cash. The station had a machine that accepted debit cards but it had an out of order sign on it. When I asked the lady working where I could pay with my plastic, she didn’t even bother to look at me and just pointed at the machine that I ALREADY SAW!!! Look, I get it. It’s public transit and I’m sure that you’re used to dealing with the scum of the earth, but I am not part of this clientele. I read all applicable signs and refrain from asking dumb ass questions that have already been answered for me or posted in plain sight, so don’t act like I’m wasting your time. (Are you or are you not getting paid to help me? Hmmm.) This lady was just inexcusably rude and probably doesn’t belong working with the public.
I was fortunate enough to be able to scrap together enough train fare from the bottom of my purse without having to beg strangers for change. My experience with the brown line itself was quick and painless unlike trying to get a CTA employee to acknowledge my existence.

The Brown Line is always a hoot and it gets me home. Me likie.

Definitely one of the better trains. Better than red or blue for sure

Of all the L trains in chicago, this one is my favorite. It tends to be the cleanest and peaceful. For a northsider, it really provides the best access to the places I want to go in Chicago. Being that it does overlap with the Red and purple lines along clark street helps save time, but only locals know this and it’s a perk of living in chicago.

The «Cadillac of EL Trains»!!
From years of living here I have found the Brown line to have the cleanest cars, most on-​time service, friendliest station attendants and cleanest stations… and the passengers aren’t half-​bad either! What more do you want out of CTA service?!?

Yes, we had some good times, Red Line, but I’m sorry– I’m going back to the Brown Line.
When I left the Brown Line for you it was because you were popular, quick, metro, even a little dirty and dangerous. You pushed me around and made me feel like a big city girl.
But now I have to go back to the Brown Line. Yes, it’s slower. But it’s also more respectable, less busy leaving more room for «me to be me». The Brown Line shows me views of the city you never could in your underground life. It’s full of light and «thank you’s» and «pleases» that just lacked with you.
We’ll always have Wrigley, Red Line. But for now I have to go to Southport.

Aside from the time you abruptly jerked forward and within 2 seconds had me sprawled out on the floor in a car packed with impeccably dressed morning commuters, Brown Line, I’d say I’m a big fan.
Having used the Red, Brown, Blue, Purple, Green and Pink lines at one time or another (I’ll get to you eventually, Yellow and Orange!), I think this is by far the cleanest, safest and most reliable of the El lines by a long shot. And because it’s elevated vs underground, it has awesome views and no disgusting sewer stench at any of its stops (I’m looking at you, Red and Blue lines!).
I disagree with previous reviewers who say that the cars don’t ever get too crowded, though. You WILL get the «sardine effect» during rush hour times, particularly if you’re boarding at Clark/​Lake or Merchandise Mart around 5pm.
However, I’d much rather be pressed up against an attractive, athletic, suit-​clad man leaving Clark/​Lake and heading toward Lincoln Park, than a pantless homeless man who’s holding a half-​eaten bagel he picked out of the garbage can and screaming Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (again, I’m looking at you, Red and Blue lines).
I’d go so far as to say that I’m going to pick my future apartment (s) based on proximity to a Brown Line stop — I couldn’t imagine my daily commute without it!

You can’t beat the views from this line. How many cities in the world can say that their L goes past some of the most remarkable sky scrapers ever built?
My trip to Chicago was made a little more memorable thanks to this particular train line.