Initially known as the
Douglas Park branch, construction began in June 1893 and the line was inaugurated on April 28, 1896, between Marshfield Avenue and . The branch started off with four stations and was the shortest of the
Metropolitan West Side Elevated. Construction time was longer than in other sections. On August 7, 1896, the Douglas Park branch was extended to . On June 29, 1900, the City of Chicago approved an extension of the branch to (then
40th Avenue) and construction took place in mid-June 1901. On March 10, 1902, the Douglas Park branch was extended to Lawndale Avenue, which allowed the opening of four new stations: , , Homan, and Clifton Park (Drake). On May 22, 1907, the Douglas Park branch was extended to 46th Avenue (Kenton Avenue), which is the Chicago city limits. The station was a few meters from the
Hawthorne plant of the
Western Electric which was one of the largest employers in the area of Chicago at the time. On December 16, 1907, the Douglas Park branch was extended to (then
48th Avenue), extending service to the town of Cicero, Illinois. On August 20, 1910, the Douglas Park branch was extended to (then 52nd Avenue Avenue). and extended again to Lombard Avenue exactly three years later. The final stretch on the branch was to Oak Park Avenue, in
Berwyn, which opened on March 16, 1924. On December 9, 1951, during the establishment of
skip/stop A/B, the
Chicago Transit Authority, which had taken over operation of the "L" system in 1947, streamlined service on the line and shut down five stations: 14th Place, Homan, Drake, Lawndale and Kenton, while opening a station at . On February 3, 1952, service on the Douglas line was suspended to all stations west of . Service to these areas was replaced by a bus route. The stations at Roosevelt and Douglas Park were closed three months later. The new system changed the service and it was decided that all stations on the Douglas branch would now be "B" and the Congress branch would now be "A". In 1973, due to budget cuts, the
50th Avenue station closed. As of today, all eleven stations on the branch are ADA accessible.
Current The current
Pink Line route was assigned to the Douglas branch on June 25, 2006. The new route connected the Douglas Branch to
the Loop via the Paulina Connector and the
Lake Street Elevated. Blue Line service on the Douglas branch was reduced to running only during rush hour. The CTA ended Blue Line service on the Douglas branch on April 25, 2008. ==Station listing==