Southbound Brown Line Bypasses Wellington, Diversey For Roy's Furniture Demolition
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Brown Line riders in Lincoln Park and South Lakeview will have to hoof it to Belmont or Fullerton Wednesday and Thursday, as the Chicago Transit Authority closes the two stops in between to accommodate the demolition of the charred remains of Roy's Furniture Company.
From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. both days, Brown Line 'L' trains headed toward the Loop will not stop at the Wellington or Diversey stops.
The reason is that the Brown Line trains will be running on the center tracks used by the Red Line, rather than the outer tracks that line up with the Wellington and Diversey platforms.
Train operators will announce routes on each train, but customers are still advised to allow extra travel time.
Roy's Furniture at 2455 N. Sheffield Ave. was destroyed by fire on Tuesday, May 29. The building abuts the Brown-Red-Purple Line 'L' structures in the rear.
During the fire, Brown, Red and Purple Line Express trains were halted altogether for nearly three hours, right as the morning rush began. Meanwhile, a DePaul University student who was walking by said she got hit with flying debris by the blaze.
Careless smoking is believed to be the cause of the extra-alarm blaze.
Earlier this week, the owners of Roy's Furniture said they plan to rebuild with a new store on the same site.
"This whole site is going to be demolished. I think what is holding up the back of the building is the CTA. We're just going to make sure that we adhere to all the policies and restrictions," Roy's Furniture marking director Johanna Parra said Monday. "You know, we don't want anyone getting hurt during the process of demolishing the back part of the building."
The store is currently operating out of its warehouse.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
