Old Technology at the 56th Street Metra Station

On my way downtown the other day, I walked in to see a construction guy standing in the atrium of the 56th street Metra stop. Looking past him, I saw he had been in the process of dismantling/removing the two ticket machines that were against the wall.

For those that don’t ride the Metra often, there was a big announcement in the earlier part of the year, saying that the cash-only ticket machines would be discontinued. With the Ventra mobile app (circa 2015), customers have taken to purchasing tickets via their devices over using these standalone machines.

I’ve seen notes on the various machines announcing this change. But today was the first day I actually saw a machine taken out of service. Or rather, the space where a machine used to be.

Because I’m someone who documents day to day things like this, of coruse I happen to have a photo of the area when the machines were still around. I took this photo in February, when I was curious about the tracks in the middle of the floor.

In chatting with the construction worker, he remembered there being turnstyles at this station. Yet another bit of technology that was removed, a long time ago.

I wonder what this room will look like in another 50 years.

Related:
Mysterious Metra Marks
More Mysterious Metra Marks
Column Artwork and Text, Hidden Along the 56th Street Metra Stop
The Ghosts of Things