Central Avenue station opened as the northern terminal of the
Northwestern Elevated Railroad on May 16, 1908.
Structure The station was built close by to landmarks that include the
Evanston Hospital and offices of
NorthShore University HealthSystem, an Evanston
fire station,
Canal Shores Golf Course, and Chandler Newburger Recreation Center.
Ryan Field, home of the
Northwestern University Wildcats football team, and
Welsh-Ryan Arena, home of Northwestern's basketball team, are a few blocks west of the station. Just west of Ryan Field on the north side of the street is the locally famous
hot dog stand, Mustard's Last Stand. A few blocks further west is the
Evanston Central Street on
Metra's
Union Pacific North Line. Less than a mile separate the two rail stations, though a more direct connection can be made a few stops ahead at
Davis.
Former service Central was served by trains of the
Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad on the Shore Line Route. Like
Foster and
Noyes, Central had an additional side platform to the west of the southbound track for exclusive use of the North Shore Line, to prevent disembarking customers from transferring to 'L' trains for free. The platform was removed sometime after the North Shore Line ceased operations over this section of the rapid transit system in 1955, but its concrete footings can still be seen opposite the current platform south of Central Street. ==Bus connections==