Merchandise Mart, Freight Elevator

January 21, 2026

On my way to work, I’m now hopping onto the CTA to get off at the Merchandise Mart stop. This drops me on the second floor, where I pass by a bank of freight elevators (near the food court). Note: photo was from an earlier time.

Today, I noticed one of the elevators was open. And there was a gentleman sitting in a chair, kind of just watching all the commuters rush by on the way to their offices.

Like everyone else, I walked right on by. And then I paused, and stopped, and turned around. And went back to take a closer look.

The guy I spoke with was friendly, but not that talkative. I mentioned having worked in the Mart a long time ago, and when I mentioned Q101 he lit up a bit – and said he remembered when they were around.

I asked his permission for a few photos, as I wanted to capture the controls for the freight elevator. It looked like an incredibly ornate, manual set of controls.

I remember the hallway in the back of Q101, that led from their offices to the Emmis Interactive space. Never did get to see those elevators in action, and felt like a nice return to see them all these many years later.