CTA – Paulina [Brown]

I ride the L occasionally I have never had any issue. It is convenient, fast and easy to ride, directions are posted everywhere there is no way to get lost. If you ride the train occasionally make sure you have enough cash or use a credit card, Ventra vending machine will not give change back, $ 3.00 dl a single ride which is not bad compared with cab fares.
The train cars are most of the time either to hot in winter or too cold in summer, other than that the ride is most of the time comfortable.

Clean and bright with a nice sized station house with artwork both on the wall and hanging overhead. At platform level, you are given a decent view down Lincoln avenue and there is access on both sides of the street (one being farecards only). The one drawback to this station is that it’s one of the tallest and climbing the steps, especially to chase thr brown line takes your breath away. Then you get to the top and realize that 1) the train that you heard is going the opposite way or 2) it’s a four car train and you have to run for it again at the platform. Either way, that can be annoying though the convenience of the station makes up for it.

A gem of a stop– when the train decides to arrive. I’ve waited 20+ minutes here for a loop bound train at around 11am M-​F multiple times. Whoever runs the scheduling controls at CTA should be canned.

I used the Paulina CTA stop a ton of times when I was training in Chicago and taking the Brown line into the Loop to get to work. Pretty much your typical CTA stop, it is well kept and orderly and there always seemed to be an attendant to help you out with your transportation woes.
Bike racks can be found readily outside of the stop and once you use your CTA card, you take the stairs up to the platform you need to catch the train on (depending on which direction you need to go).
While up on the platform, there are shelters to stand under and out of the rain. I wasn’t there for the winter, but I would imagine the shelters are good to get out of the cold while waiting as well.

Nice. Clean. More heat lamps please. I feel like a lizard in the winter…

This must be in my top 5 favorite CTA stations. Although there isn’t much competition… The station lobby is beautiful, brightly lit and full of mosaic tiles and a humungous steel art sculpture that hangs from the ceiling. The location is close to some of my favorite places: Frasca, Dinkels Bakery, New England Seafood Company and much more. I will say that the platform is quite drafty but it does serve its purpose. Plus, there’s a nice viewpoint down the diagonal Lincoln Avenue that has the Sears/​Willis Tower in the distance. I also enjoy the secondary entrance/​exit off of Paulina (station is on Lincoln) as long as there isn’t a train pulling in because it requires you to haul a** up the stairs quickly and only one person can pass through the spinning turnstile at a time.

Is that… Is that a SCULPTURE hanging from the ceiling? WTF?! Where is the urine puddle? Where in the hell am I?
Oh. Right. It’s the Brown line. This is lovely CTA, but could you show some love like this to the blueliners? This stop makes me feel like a redheaded stepchild, and I’m starting to develop a complex.

This is one of my favorite stops!
Modern. Clean. Cute. The only thing missing is the time arrival boards. Yay for Paulina!

I live only a block away, so I was thrilled when it reopened. Now, a year and a half later, the station is still clean and looking nice. I’m pleased to have such a nice stop so close to my apartment! Also noted by a few other reviewers, the steps on the Paulina entrance are fairly steep and numerous, but again, a nice workout on your way to work!

Close to home and super clean. If your taking a ride to the loop I highly recommend it over the red line to 95^th. Its much cleaner, has less crazy folk and has some great views of the city. It takes a little longer (about 10 minutes) to reach downtown but It’s my rail of choice.

I used to use you and love you sooo much… but then Addison got all sexy with its elevator and all… now you’re nothing to me. But we will always have to memories when Addison was getting her face lift

This stop recently reopened after a year under construction, and you’d think they were building a goddamned cathedral with it taking as long as it did. The end result isn’t exactly holy ground, but they’ve done a pretty decent job putting things together.
There are entrances and exits on both sides of Lincoln, which is not only convenient but, as I see it, a good safety measure. Stations like Belmont and Fullerton are lacking this, and you end up having people jaywalking like mad to make the train going to work or to catch a bus on the way home. I’m sure people have been hit by cars there, and it’s their own fault, but it’s something the CTA would do well to fix.
The west entrance at Paulina is aesthetically pleasing enough inside and outside. There’s a nice red brick exterior, and high windows in the front let in a lot of light on those days when the sun actually comes out in Chicago. They’ve also got a cool metal sculpture hanging overhead. It’ll probably fall and decapitate a few people somewhere down the line, but in the meantime it looks pretty good.
It was a pleasant surprise to learn that the east side of the street — my side — has an entrance in addition to an exit. The stairways on either side offer a much longer and more gradual ascent/​descent than the standard el stop stairway. This is by no means a complaint. A lot of people haven’t found out about this entrance yet, and it’s a nice tranquil stroll before you have to mope around on the platform and wonder why the train is packed before it’s even hit Belmont. The actual entrance on the east side of Lincoln is one of those revolving grates, and a swipe of your card will allow it to magically reverse its standard exit-​only direction for five seconds or so.
My only gripe with the station has more to do with the CTA itself: why are they still using wood on so many platforms? I’m no structural engineer or anything, but I’m pretty sure concrete lasts longer. The boards look nice, but Chicago winters are going to tear through them in short order.
I live just around the corner from the station, and it’s a world of convenience finally having it open. Which is not to say that Paulina isn’t completely unnecessary. The Southport and Addison stops are both about a 5 – 7 minute walk away. I guess it’s par for the course in a city that has two bus stops for two streets that are thirty yards apart. But, it’s also nice to see the neighborhood returning to life with the station’s reopening. People are coming out of the woodwork to catch the train now.

I’m happy to see artwork incorporated into the new Paulina Brown Line station. I love the mosaic and the metal sculpture. The station is clean, shiny and new. I’m so glad to have the station open again. The CTA did a good job on this one.

I moved half a block from this stop in October and have been anxiously awaiting it’s opening since then. (Of course it opens up once the weather is nicer and I don’t mind walking an extra 10−20minutes to another station)
Do you have any idea how much easier this makes my life? My commute has been cut in half! I love it. It’s also great to see the sudden boom in people in the neighborhood now.
I feel like there are a lot more steps here than at most stations, but I’m okay with it, gives my butt a nice little workout before work!

I’m in freaking love. This station honestly makes my commute almost pleasant. Now everyone join me in getting the RedEye boxes placed at all the entrances!

It’s shiny, and new, and what’s more, it’s open.

I’m gonna miss the charm of the old station, with the bells and lights that would go off to let you now the train was near and which direction it was going. Having said that, I am really excited that Paulina is reopening in March and most of the updates to the brown line will be over. Best line in Chicago.