Red Line from Howard to 95th

What does sex, gambling, violence, drugs, hustling, and crime all have in common? They all take place in the Chicago’s finest Red Line: the premier CTA rail line that is the north-south artery of the city. You start off in the far north side, penetrate through Downtown Chicago, and end up deep in the South Side. As a lifelong Northsider, I had to embark on an adventure to see the mystical South Side. You hear about the South Side with such negativity in the news as they mention shootings, robberies, and a plethora of crimes. It is true but I believe it’s being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Howard Station

The Howard area is the northernmost part of Chicago bordering the quintessential town of Evanston. The Howard station is a transportation hub as it takes you to Skokie via the Yellow Line and Evanston via the Purple Line. There are also a bus terminal with a variety of buses that can take you to the Northern suburbs with Skokie & Old Orchard being a common destination (#97, #215, #201) as well as Northwestern University (#201), and even the bougie Wilmette, Kenilworth, and Highland Park (#213). The Clark bus has its terminal in Howard and is the artery to Chicago taking you to the various northside neighborhoods all the way to Downtown.

The Howard Area contains a variety of stores and restaurants. My go-to is Dunkin Donuts and Subway. There is a shopping plaza with a LA Fitness and Jewel Osco but you have to enter the atrium to access it. The Howard Area is also a ghetto area. There are people selling loud, begging for money/squares, lots of drug use as I saw niggas passing a blunt nonchalantly on the corner of Howard & Paulina. Many shootings have taken place with one recently that took the life of a 20 year old at the station and a Northwestern graduate student at Clark & Howard. There is a plethora of gang activity in Howard Street between Clark St and Sheridan Road. I consider that to be the danger zone so it is best to not be walking in that area; especially if you’re lacking. When I commute to work, I make sure to stay in the Howard station briefly as I immediately board a train or bus to get to my destination safely. I enter the train and embark on the Southerly journey.

Rogers Park (Jarvis → Loyola)

As the train leaves Howard, the stations that follow consist of passengers from all walks of life. Morse station has been a danger zone as well but gentrification is slowly annihilating that. Morse has changed a lot over the years but it still has some ghetto in it. Loyola station is filled with Loyola students that are commuting to the city. Lot of preppy people entering the trains, especially in the weekends. A benefit of these stations is that you will be guaranteed a seat in the train so you don’t have to stand. Loyola is my favorite station due to the plethora of restaurants and stores in the area.

Edgewater (Granville → Berwyn)

This is a pretty lackadaisical part of the Red Line ride. Millennials, yuppies, immigrants all hop on in the Edgewater stations. Lot of kids from the South Side attend Senn High School in Edgewater. Many of them board the trains at Thorndale to take the Red Line to the South Side. It’s crazy how Southsiders are willing to take the journey to Edgewater just to attend high school. It shows how bad the schools are in the South Side (except for charter, magnet, and SE schools.) A lot of construction is taking place in this stretch in the Red Line but it will look amazing once it is finished.

Uptown (Argyle → Wilson)

The Argyle station is trying to exemplify the Asian experience. The station has an Asian design and is filled with Asian businesses that are mainly Southeast Asian and Chinese. It would not be wise to consider it the Northside Chinatown. Wilson Station is another danger zone in the North Side. It has been crime ridden for years. Luckily, the station has gone through a major renovation and is a transfer station just like Belmont & Fullerton. Still, there are shady, violent people lurking in this area. Watch out at night especially. A lot of African immigrants live in the Wilson Area as well but I doubt that’ll combat the ghettoness of Wilson. There is a lot of gentrification going on at Wilson so I believe the modernized station will make an impact within the next 5–10 years.

Lake View (Sheridan → Belmont)

This is a boring part of the Red Line. Just white people boarding. When you are taking the Red Line south during Rush hour, Sheridan, Addison, and Belmont are bound to have people filling the cars. A lot of these people end up standing as the seats are taken. Belmont is a major hub as people from Lake View, Ravenswood (Brown Line) and Evanston (Purple Line) board and fill up. Don’t get me started on Cubs fans. When it is gameday, expect drunk white people filling up the seats as many have pregamed before coming to the game or are wasted coming home after a lot of drinking in the plethora of Wrigleyville bars and even Wrigley Field. You’re not a real Cubs fan if you don’t come to the game drunk.

Lincoln Park (Fullerton, North & Clybourn)

Fullerton is another hub as large groups of passengers pack the Southbound trains there. N&C is in the center of the shopping centers of Lincoln Park filled with luxury stores, designer stores, and the Apple Store.

Downtown (C&D → Roosevelt)

People come and go as the train passes through downtown. The white people leave to go downtown and the black people start boarding as they head to the South Side. The transition from white to black is not evident until you are at Harrison or Roosevelt.

Chinatown → Sox-35th

At this point, the train consist of predominantly black passengers. You may see Asian people in the Red Line but you know damn well they are getting off at Cermak-Chinatown.

Southside (47th → 95th)

Welcome to the South Side. As the train leaves Sox-35th, you have officially reached the hood. Depending on the time of day, you will see a variety of activities happening in the Red Line. There will be people sleeping in the seats. You will see people selling loud, cigarettes, clothing, snacks, candy, pussy, you name it. The kitty corner of each car is a notorious spot as people are rolling up blunts in there or having sex.

During the day, it is not as bad during Rush Hour as passengers are heading to school or work. However, the off-peak hours are a bit shady. I mean, who the hell rides the Red Line during off-peak hours on a Weekday? Oh right, people with no jobs. If you want to see the Red Line experience without taking the Red Line, go to WorldStar or Youtube and search Chicago Train. You will see a variety of videos of tomfoolery occurring in the Chicago trains. The day may not seem so bad but it is a different story at night.