Brian Kaempen was the first person in line outside the new Apple Store adjacent to the North/Clybourn Red Line stop.
The Chicago Transit Authority Red Line station at North and Clybourn has been run down for years.
So run down, in fact, that some riders would often get off the train one stop early or one stop later to avoid it.
The Apple Corporation is hoping to change the reputation of that stop, however.
Before opening their new location along North Avenue, the computer company invested nearly $4 million to clean up the station, which sits close to the Cabrini Green housing project.
The company installed new brick and windows, and cleaned the station’s once-dingy floors and escalators, and painted the railings a cheery red. Outside there’s a plaza with a fountain, a nice place for riders and customers to enjoy their iPods, iPhones, and iPads.
And not coincidentally, glowing Apple ads meet you at every turn. The Apple name seems to be everywhere -- except out front. Apple expressed interest in renaming the station the Apple Red Line Stop, but right now the CTA doesn’t sell naming rights to it’s stations.
