CTA – Argyle Red Line

This station needs serious repairs and an escalator, it´s dirty and it seems like it´s from the past century.

NorthSide; U with the legs watch out for the looks, U with the bags watch out for the crooks; artist, actors, working-​class boys„ Watch the closing doors. DST IRT
The lights are out in Car #3; they starting early smoking the weed.

Very safe, very friendly employees. Does NOT smell bad or anything close to bad. I use this stop late at night and in the morning; I’ve never so much as been nervous.

I get a lot of crap from my girlfriend for reviewing CTA stops, but I still think it is important. Truth is, despite the fact that CTA regulates all stops, not all stops are created equal. As a rule, I never give less than three stars to a transit stop simply because they do what I need them to do… get me from somewhere to somewhere else.
The new Argyle is looking good. After six weeks of construction it’s back open for business and better than ever. The entry area is clean and safe, and the platform is lined with tiny heaters. I’m in CTA love.

I have to use this stop a lot and I’ve never had any trouble or negative experiences. I’ve been here day and night, week and weekends. It’s very ‘city’, but nowhere near as nasty and dangerous as a multitude of red line stops. This neighborhood is a blast, so many amazing restaurants and businesses, and I’ve walked alone from here west to the Ravenswood metra/​Foster area, beautiful architecture, nice people, good slice of Clark Street nearby, Tank Noodle (woot), what’s not to love. It’s Chicago, watch your back, but really, this stop is fairly innocuous with friendly CTA workers, and the neighborhood holds many treasures!

I’ve lived right off this stop for about 4 months now and I’ve gotta say that I’ve had no problems so far. I have a train tracker on my IPhone and I just leave at least 3 minutes before the train comes and I always make it.
Right off the Argyle Red Line is a plethora of Vietnamese styled restaurant and stores. During the day, it is a fairly busy and crowded place, especially during lunch or dinner times. However, the entire Argyle street seems completely deserted at night.
I’ve never had an incident while walking home at night, but it is somewhat discerning to see a completely deserted street with all the stores locked up with metal bars as security.
This place does not have an elevator so it is not handicap friendly. Other than that, it’s an okay station.

Even after the renovation, it still looks trashy and dungeon-​like. Even after the renovation, when it rains, this place floods. I’ve always been torn on the method of entry… those doors are annoying and ugly, but they have a kind of… charm.
Platform lacks a good view of anything at all, except for northward to Berwyn station and beyond, so I guess you can at least get a good idea where the train is if you’re going south.
Seems that greasy Mexican spoon they used to have has closed down. There’s not a single reason for this that wouldn’t surprise me. But that place sometimes made for a nice brunch.

I avoid this stop unless it’s bright and sunny and warm. I used to get off here after my night class let up, but after getting followed by a creepy guy, I’ve avoided this place at night like the plague.
Plus it smells like pee.
I usually take the bus to Addison now. I can handle meatheads and suburbanites coming for a Cubs game. I don’t think I can handle creepy, lecherous old men, however.

The Argyle station may be smelly from the urine from morons peeing in them, but all the people who use it everyday should find the platform important in the morning and evening. A downer is that the platform is not handicap accessible.
Another downer with this station is that it needs some major renovation and up keeping. They do periodically paint the station but the infrastructure really needs the work.
This station is actually pretty safe despite the shady areas around the station. Overall, it just isn’t that bad.

I love Argyle! Get some Phở, do it!

The Argyle station stop has been my lifeline for the last 18 years. Whenever I’ve visited Chicago since 1990, this is the start of my adventure. The station is ok, I mean it’s a typical wooden platform, nothing special. No handicap access. There is the all to familiar urine smell, but it’s no worse than any other station along the route.
It’s the only station I feel safe enough to get off on in the area late at night. The Lawrence stop isn’t exactly the worlds safest at night.

With all the rain we’ve had lately, I’ve had the chance to experience some of Chicago’s failing infrastructure from a whole new perspective.
At the Argyle Red Line stop, the eroded cement is so bad that the CTA staff apparently has resorted to stuffing towels into the cracks to stop the rain from flooding the inside of the station.
And the piss smell… whew! I don’t know where it comes from but this place is urea central when it rains.
At least here the piss fumes are mixed with the wafting phở fumes from the hood.