Grand, also known as and announced as Grand/State to differentiate it from Grand on the Blue Line, is a rapid transit station on the Red Line of the Chicago 'L'. It serves Navy Pier, which is accessible via bus on Illinois Street one block south.LocationThe first stop north of the Chicago River on the Red Line, Grand station is located in the River North neighborhood of the city. More specifically, it lies underneath North State Street at its intersection with Grand Avenue. Due to its central location, it is close to a number of landmarks in Chicago, with Navy Pier to the east and the Merchandise Mart (which has its own station on the Brown and Purple Lines).HistoryGrand opened on October 17, 1943, as part of the State Street Subway, which forms the central portion of what is now the Red Line between North/Clybourn and Roosevelt stations.During the 1950s, the CTA implemented skip-stop service throughout the 'L' system. Under this service pattern, Grand station was designated as AB along with all other downtown stations (on the Red Line, those stops south of Clark/Division and north of Cermak were given AB designations). As a result, all trains stopped at these stations. The skip-stop service was ended due to budget cuts in the 1990s.
