Photo Gallery: The Art of the 'L' | Sidetracks | Chicago by 'L'

'FreeFormal' art piece at Garfield Green Line Station

Photo Gallery: The Art of the ‘L’

FreeFormal, by Nick Cave, at the Garfield Green Line Station Photo: Ken Carl

Photo Gallery: The Art of the 'L'

If you’re sprinting up the stairs to catch the train on your morning commute, you might miss that the public transportation system that takes you to work each day is also a vast network of public art. There are 145 ‘L’ stations across the city, and many of them display diverse art in a variety of mediums. ‘L’ riders can find everything from soaring, steel sculptures and glass murals to mosaic portraits and ornately tiled ceilings. The photographs below are just a sampling of that artwork and architecture.

24/7, Carla Arocha and Stéphane Schraenen, 2009, Howard Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Cornucopia, Lynn Basa, 2014, Argyle Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Cubs Legends, Steve Musgrave, 2007, Addison Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Hopes and Dreams, Juan Angel Chávez and Corinne D. Peterson, 2002, Roosevelt Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Hopes and Dreams, Juan Angel Chávez and Corinne D. Peterson, 2002, Roosevelt Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Overlapping Connections, Indira Freitas Johnson, 2015, Cermak-Chinatown Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Game Changer, Paula Henderson, 2014, Sox-35th Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Bronzeville to Back of the Yards, Andrew Hall, 2015, 47th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Presenting the Picture You Wanted to See, Cecil McDonald, Jr., 2015, Garfield Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Presenting the Picture You Wanted to See, Cecil McDonald, Jr., 2015, Garfield Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

A Need to Remember, Preston Jackson, 2007, 69th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

A Need to Remember, Preston Jackson, 2007, 69th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Sanctuary, Doug Fogelson, 2015, 69th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carll — Sanctuary, Doug Fogelson, 2015, 69th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Seventyninth:Street:Shuffle, McArthur Binion, 2015, 79th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

america/america, Theaster Gates, 2018-2019, 95th Street Red Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Englewood Transit Terminal, Maurice Glicken, 1969, Ashland/63rd Street Green Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

A Year Past Zoom, Hebru Brantley, 2015, Cermak-McCormick Place Green Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Exelon Tube, Rem Koolhaas, Green Line near the campus of the Illinois Institute of Technology. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

FreeFormal, Nick Cave, 2018, Garfield Green Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

FreeFormal, Nick Cave, 2018, Garfield Green Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Bicycle Racks, Lacey Pipher, 2012, Morgan Green/Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Morgan Street Station, Ross Barney Architects, 2012, Morgan Green/Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority />
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Ashland Station, Lake Street Elevated Railroad Company Engineers, 1893 (restored in 1996), Ashland Green/Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Conservatory Mosaics, Michael Cloud, Carolyn Elain, Salim Hurtado, and Nina Smoot-Cain, 2001-2004, Conservatory-Central Park Drive Green Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Untitled, Hector Duarte, Gallery 37, and Curie High School Students, 1998, Pulaski Orange Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

54th/Cermak Station, Nicole Gordon, 2004, 54th Street/Cermak Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Birth of Heroes: A Mandala for Harmony, Ivan Watkins, 2004, Kostner Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Pulaski Station, Adam Brooks, 2004, Pulaski Avenue Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Cannas & Corn: A Community Garden, Olive Gude, 2004, Central Park Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Coast of Chicago, John Himmelfarb, 2004, Kedzie Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Amor, Christopher Tavares Silva, 2004, California Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Ice Cream Dream, Hector Duarte, 2004, Western Pink Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Vida Simple, Juan Angel Chávez, 2004, Damen Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carly — Vida Simple, Juan Angel Chávez, 2004, Damen Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Vida Simple, Juan Angel Chávez, 2004, Damen Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carly — Vida Simple, Juan Angel Chávez, 2004, Damen Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Untitled, Francisco Mendoza, Gallery 37 Students, and the Mexican Museum of National Art, 1998, 18th Pink Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

O’Hare Terminal, Helmut Jahn, 1984, O’Hare Blue Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

River Road Ring, Martin Puryear, 1985, Rosemont Blue Line Station Photo: Graham Garfield / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Rock Bow, Charles Ross, 1983, Cumberland Blue Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Harlem Station, Alex Katz, 1984, Harlem Blue Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Harmony of the World, Patrick McGee, 2015, California Blue Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

American Tourister, Ron Baron, 2008, Damen Brown Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

American Tourister, Ron Baron, 2008, Damen Brown Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

American Tourister, Ron Baron, 2008, Damen Brown Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Commonplaces, Juan Carlos Macías, 2008, Irving Park Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Transitions, Barbara Cooper, 2009, Paulina Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Green and Yellow, Elizabeth Fraiberg, 2008, Southport Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Space Junction of Energy, Jerald Jacquard, 1970, Belmont Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority — Green and Yellow, Elizabeth Fraiberg, 2008, Southport Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority

Doors Open Everywhere at Fullerton, Michael Dinges, 2009, Fullerton Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Chicago El Stories, Jon Gitelson, 2008, Armitage Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority — Chicago El Stories, Jon Gitelson, 2008, Armitage Brown Line Station. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authorityl

Time is the Enemy (Revisited), Carlos “Dzine” Rolón, 2009, Sedgwick Brown Line Station. Photo: Ken Carl

Washington and Wabash Station, EXP Engineering, 2017. Photo: Aron Gent / Courtesy of the Chicago Transit Authority