CTA – Francisco

It’s cute, has a mosaic walk way that leads to a great coffee shop, isn’t crowded, on ground level, is staffed, and leads downtown on a great tour of the city’s skyline. With a book you could give yourself a free tour… all from the Francisco stop in the 33^rd.

Best stop on the Brown Line.
Reason #1: No advertising
Reason #2: The friendly attendants
Reason #3: The mosaic tiled entrance ramp
Reason #4: It is steps away from my apartment
Reason #5: The train is on the ground, so it isn’t loud
Reason #6: The neighborhood it is in
Reason #7 — Infinity: The puzzled looks on faces of people when I say I live by Francisco on the Brown Line («What??? It goes further than Southport?»)

I love, love, love my new el stop! The brown line rocks and the Francisco stop has the most cordial attendants of all that I have visited. Not to mention the stop is always clean! It is always a warm welcome home when you get off at the Francisco stop.

I take this train to head downtown and before I used to park by Kimball to hop on there and ride, but I found this nice little gem of a station closer to me and with more parking. The neighborhood is really nice and cute. The neighboring cafes/​restaurants are really neat and serve breakfast for you morning commuters. By far the best stop on the brown line near the north side of chicago.

This is such a quaint neighborhood train stop and it always make me feel warm and fuzzy. It’s just charming.
I catch the train at this station pretty often as a close friend lives nearby. The CTA employees who work here are some of the friendliest I’ve encountered and they always say «Good morning» and «Have a nice evening.» The commuters seem like a kind bunch, who all seem to know each other and make chit-​chat while waiting for the train. I have never experienced that before at any other train station. It makes me feel like I’m in a Norman Rockwell painting.
The mosaic tile ramp to the entrance reminds me that a CTA station need not be ugly.
The music blaring from Merle’s Coffee Shop next door makes me smile and want to sing along.
The shelter of the station keeps me from exposure to the elements in inclement weather.
And the sense of community I get every time the train pulls into the station is priceless.

Hands down my favorite El stop in the ENTIRE CTA transit El system. I can’t tell you what it was like prior to the Brown Line Expansion/​Renovation but I can speak to it’s current condition. Heck, just look at the pictures I’ve posted of it.
–Complete rebuild of the historic station house with new paint and signage.
–At ground level (I guess it wouldn’t «technically» be considered the El due to the lack of «ELevated tracks» but it continues to be called such)
–Has a gorgeous floral pattern mosaic and plants all along the entrance ramp
–100% handicap accessible
–Brightly lit for night time travel
–Necessary windbreaks for that frigid Windy City of ours
–Interesting circular, one-​person «stepping» benches
–Has the marvelous Merle’s Coffee Shoppe right next door to play you oldies hits while you await the next train
–Only the cutest grand opening to the quaint neighborhood of Ravenswood Manor
Damn, I feel like I’m making an old-​fashioned Pros & Cons list as my father would always recommend me to create when making a decision. Too bad the Francisco Stop has no Cons and hence leaves no decision on how many *Stars* to receive.
My only warning is that if you don’t go through the station to pay the turnstile, wait for those who are already passing because there’s barely enough room for two.