The State Street subway project was funded by
New Deal programs established by
Franklin D. Roosevelt during the
Great Depression. In 1937, the city of
Chicago successfully applied for a federal grant and loan from the
Works Progress Administration to fund the construction of two subway tunnels, the first of which would be built beneath
State Street and the second beneath
Milwaukee Avenue and Dearborn Street. On December 17, 1938, the city of Chicago began construction of the State Street subway at the intersection of State Street and Chicago Avenue. The tunnel was buried deep to enable the use of a
tunnel boring machine throughout the construction of the subway. Only brief sections were built using the "
cut-and-cover" method. Unlike the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway, no delays occurred in construction and the subway opened for revenue service on October 17, 1943. train exiting the north portal of the subway at Willow Street In November 1985, work began to extend the State Street subway south from its original portal at 13th and State Street, where it connected to the
South Side main Line, and the
Englewood and
Jackson Park branches, in order to connect the State Street subway to the
Dan Ryan branch. The subway extension was completed by January 25, 1990, but did not immediately enter passenger service. On February 21, 1993, the
CTA color-coded the lines and made the State Street subway and Dan Ryan Branch part of the present day
Red Line. Trains were rerouted through the new subway extension to the Dan Ryan Branch which runs to
95th/Dan Ryan, while the South Side Elevated branch became part of the present day
Green Line. On April 13, 1992, during the
Chicago flood of water poured into Chicago's subways and the basements of nearby buildings. Service through the State Street subway was stopped temporarily, while water was pumped out of the tunnels. On November 18, 1997, the station at
Lake permanently opened as an independent station, offering transfers to the elevated
State/Lake station. Lake was originally part of the
Washington station. On October 23, 2006, the Washington station closed due to the
Block 37 project. ==Station listing==