Comfort Station Logan Square

Home
Comfort Station Logan Square

Comfort Station Logan Square Historic building with public, community-driven programs Only two are still standing, the second located along Austin Avenue in Columbus Park.

Since 2010, Comfort Station has been operated by an all volunteer staff as a multidisciplinary art space. As of 2016, the programming team has obtained 501c3 status as a non-profit organization, which works in conjunction with Logan Square Preservation, the current lease holder of the Comfort Station building. In the early 1920s, the West Chicago Parks Commission—one of the forerunners of the mode

rn-day Chicago Park District—formed an advisory council. The first recommendation that council made was for a series of comfort stations through the Park Boulevard System. The stations were originally envisioned as a series of warming buildings/public restrooms and were located along transit lines. Each of the original park agencies (West, South and North) had designs for prototypical buildings -- police shelters, gardening sheds, field houses and comfort stations. The Logan Square Comfort Station was one of nine identical Tudor-style West Parks Public Comfort Stations constructed in 1926 and 1927. In Logan Square there were two other stations, one at Kedzie Boulevard and Fullerton Avenue and the other at Armitage Avenue and Humboldt Boulevard, each located on the southwest parkway at the intersection. Three more were located in Humboldt Park and the last at the intersection of Independence Boulevard and Roosevelt Road. No records have yet surfaced noting when the stations were demolished, but there are indications that their utility was short-lived. The Logan Square Comfort Station is identified as "vacant" as early as 1940 and was shortly there after converted for use as a "Tool Shop." An exterior canopy (see below) was added to the front of the building in the 1940s to allow commuters to continue using it as shelter even though the interior was closed to the public. It escaped demolition multiple times in spite of various plans for re-use and re-design of Logan Square that were floated over the decades. When the Chicago Park District transferred the Boulevard System to the City of Chicago, the Comfort Station continued its use as as shed. Through the early 2000’s the Chicago Department of Transportation continued to store landscaping equipment in the building used to maintain the square and boulevards. In 2005, Logan Square Preservation began an active campaign to restore the Comfort Station. Through a partnership with the City of Chicago and 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon, TIF funds were used to clean and restore the building to its original 1926 appearance including complete cleaning and tuckpointing of brick, a new clay tile roof, stucco, tudoring, copper gutters, and restored windows.

27/01/2025

Tickets on sale NOW for Comfort Station 2nd annual gala, POSTSCRIPT: a Love Letter to Logan Square

✏️ Curious about the history of Comfort Station and the neighborhood we're celebrating?

🗞️ Our community partners (and leaseholders!) Logan Square Preservation have generously provided archival material, on view only at POSTSCRIPT! We'll also have custom matchbook takeaways for all, inspired by the many historical matchbooks of LSP's archives.

💋 Because we love our neighbors, we have a 10% discount code for gala tickets for members! Find the code in the January LSP newsletter or DM us

More about LSP from their website: Founded in 1980, LSP's first mission was to preserve historic architecture and the beauty of our little piece of Chicago’s boulevard system. Since then we have expanded to become a strong consortium of neighbors who meet regularly to stay informed about the happenings of the neighborhood and advocate for an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable neighborhood, that honors our historic roots and celebrates the vibrant community we live in today.

24/01/2025

Each year, we crown a community member who has made an immeasurable impact as our annual Comfort Station Valentine. For 2025, we honor artist & community leader Norma Rios-Sierra . A mosaic and stained glass artist with a flourishing practice of her own, Norma runs creative programming with local youth, families and neighbors that honors the Mexican heritage of our neighborhood. A force of Logan Square & Hermosa, she serves as the Cultural Events Manager for Palenque LSNA , our longest-standing community partners, and curates their annual Día de Mu***os celebration on Comfort Station's lawn. Please join us at the gala on February 7 in celebrating Norma's important and tireless work.

Tickets in bio!
More info: comfortstationlogansquare.org/gala

20/01/2025

🥶Ready to shake off the winter blues??
❤️‍🔥Join us for the POSTSCRIPT afterparty!!

Once you've done your gallery hopping and small-talk, make your way over to celebrate with some of Chicago's hottest DJs- , and .p.a.c.e.y.l.a.c.e.y will turn the heat up.

Afterparty runs from 9:30-midnight with a fully open bar. The best part? Tickets are only $25.

Ticket link in bio -- get 'em before they're gone!!

15/01/2025

Introducing the menu for our second annual gala on 2/7 POSTSCRIPT: A Love Letter to Logan Square, brought to you by , the amazing venture by LS-based Liz Bendure and Daniel Parker.

Gala particpants will enjoy a multi-course sit down meal from the duo, followed by a dessert bar. What's not to love about great food by great people? 💋

Tickets in bio.

More about TXA TXA CLUB from their website:
TXA TXA CLUB (like “cha cha”) is an exploratory monthly Supper Club and food studio based in Logan Square. TXA TXA Club is an invitation, an exploration, an ongoing act of discovery. It’s about food, too, sure, but it’s about much more than that. TTC’s aim is to foster a sense of community through the sharing of food and creativity in both private and public spaces. TTC is about creating a feeling. A nearly ineffable state of emotion that comes to life in the body, shared with other bodies in a space where all things are possible. A sort of reverse transfiguration. Like finding a sense of home in a place you’ve never been before, or turning a corner you’ve turned 1,000x and, as sudden as a bird, you’re somewhere new.

13/01/2025

💌 Join us for our second annual gala, POSTSCRIPT: A Love Letter to Logan Square!

🗓️ Friday, February 7, 2025, at Sarabande.

This year, we’re celebrating Comfort Station with an emphasis our neighborhood. Join us for a special welcome cocktail hour with live jazz music, snacks, and a seated dinner catered by , a paddle + raffle, and an open bar all night.

Help us honor our 2025 Valentine, artist and community organizer

The gala is followed by an afterparty and open bar featuring sets from DJs , and .p.a.c.e.y.l.a.c.e.y from 9:30pm–midnight. Tickets for the after party are only $25 🤑

All proceeds will go towards Comfort Station programming and artist stipends throughout the 2025 season!
Tickets link in our bio!
More info: comfortstationlogansquare.org/gala!
💘 Comfort Station

30/12/2024

Comfort Station hosted over 200 *free* public events in 2024! Make a donation TODAY support our work. In the last few weeks of the year we’ve been sharing stories about our history, how we operate, how we’re funded, and WHO makes things happen. Meet some of our key staff and programmers in today’s post, and what they love about Comfort Station!
More information on our website...

28/12/2024

At Comfort Station, we are deeply grateful to our Board of Directors. As we close out 2024, we are honoring our outgoing board president (of 9 years!), . We’re also celebrating our newest board members who joined us this fall. Scroll through to learn all about them!

Through our Board of Directors, our volunteer Staff and Programmers, and the support of people like you, Comfort Station will continue our mission of activating our nearly century-old building with public, community-driven programs that foster vibrant connections at the intersection of art and life. If you are in a position to make an end-of-year donation to support Comfort Station, please do!

comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate

Thank you!
❤️, Comfort Station

24/12/2024

The end of the year is nigh! We’re continuing our series of Comfort Station fun facts and asking for your support to help us finish the year strong! Thank you for your support! comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate

🤔 Who programs Comfort Station?
All of our programming is run completely independently of any city department or initiative, by mostly artists, curators, and programmers who do this work because they love doing it and are committed to expanding the ways Comfort Station can be a unique conduit for creative experiences in the heart of Logan Square.

In our early years especially, our programming grew organically based on who showed interest and vision in making something happen. More recently, we will occasionally announce a call for volunteers to bring new programmers into particular areas that have specific needs. We otherwise still operate with the same grassroots legacy where most of our programmers are usually people who attended events and became interested in being more involved.

🤔 How did Comfort Station become a cultural space?
Shortly after (LSP) became the leaseholder and was in the process of deciding how the space could be activated, one of its members proposed a casual exhibition of his paintings as a way to showcase the building. After this exhibition was well received, others in turn were invited to curate ad hoc shows in the spring of 2011. By that summer, a weekly music series and an informal film program had also taken root and due to the public enthusiasm for these cultural programs, LSP decided to continue that direction in coordination with the volunteer programmers who had gotten involved. In 2016, Comfort Station NFP was formed as a distinct 501c3 non profit, which now officially partners with LSP as the operator of programming inside the building.

Hope you’re enjoying learning about Comfort Station! If you’re in a position to give, we hope you’ll consider making a one-time donation or monthly gift. Link in bio, or go to: comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate

Thank you!
❤️, Comfort Station

22/12/2024

It’s end-of-year giving season, and we’re presenting “Everything you ever wanted to know about Comfort Station but were afraid to ask.” If you’re inspired by what we do, consider an end-of-year donation to help us continue our nonprofit work!

🤔 How is Comfort Station funded?
Our funding is pieced together from donations, fundraising events, private foundation grants, and some government grants.

Because we operate within a city building, people often assume that we are primarily funded by a dedicated city cultural program or budget line. In reality, the vast majority of our funding comes from other sources and we rely heavily on the generosity of individual donors to sustain free programming for our community.

💥Did you know?
In 2024, only 1% of our operating budget came from state or city government grants.

Our work benefits greatly from the City of Chicago, local aldermen and other stakeholders making this unique building available for us to activate it with over 150 free events per year. We otherwise have no guaranteed city, state, or federal funds to fund our cultural programs, which is why we are so grateful when members of our community make donations to sustain this work.

Since becoming a 501c3 in 2016, we have applied for the CityArts Grant each year alongside most other small arts non-profits, and have received a small grant in most years (though not all, as city budgets fluctuate). Other governmental funding includes the Illinois Arts Council, whose grants have covered roughly 1-2% of our operating budgets in recent years. All other revenue comes from individual contributions, private foundation grants, and fundraising events with community partners like Lula Cafe who has supported us through their annual Logan Square Chef’s Dinner. We are grateful to the Driehaus Foundation for their significant commitment to supporting our programs, as well as the Donnelley Foundation who have funded us since 2016.

Curious to learn more? Follow along all month, and consider making a one-time or recurring donation to support us! Link in bio, or head to comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate !

Thank you.
❤️, Comfort Station

20/12/2024

RECAP // A look back at the gallery in 2024!

PLUS join us this weekend -
Upcoming Viewing Hours
Sunday - December 22, 2024
11 a - 2 p

1 - Tracing Ways
work by Rosemary Holliday Hall
and E. Saffronia Downing
December 7, 2024 – January 5, 2025
PC - Mikey Mosher

2 - VAMP
work by D Rosen
November 2 – December 1, 2024
PC - Levi Shand

3 - Fear of Losing, Love of Having
work by Ray Madrigal
October 5 – 27, 2024
PC - Mikey Mosher

4 - still, still
work by Maddie May
September 7 – 29, 2024
PC - Mikey Mosher

5 - Bibliographical, nonsense #3: Paratextual Messages of the (UF)Os
work by olivier
August 3 – September 1, 2024

6 - Flags, Food and Faith
work by Jonathan Michael Castillo
July 6 – 28, 2024

7 - certain places
work by Zulkhairi Zulkiflee
and Sheldon Till–Campbell
June 1 – 30, 2024

8 - Al-Atlal الأطلال
work by Sayeda Misa Sourour
May 4 – 26, 2024

9 - Ephemeral Echoes
work by Sangwoo Yoo
April 6 – 28, 2024

10 - WOW YEAH
work by Yaismel Alba Garib
March 2 – 31, 2024

19/12/2024

As our programming winds down for the season, we’re making space to share our story. If you’re inspired by what we do, consider an end-of-year donation to help us continue our nonprofit work!

🤔 Who owns Comfort Station?
You do! It is a city-owned property and part of our public commons here in Chicago. That publicness has been a key part of our mission since we started programming here in 2011.

In its nearly 100 year history, it has passed through different city departments, and it is currently under the jurisdiction of CDOT (Chicago Department of Transportation). People often assume it is part of the Chicago Park District, in part because its surroundings and its resemblance to architectural styles of various field houses. And it actually used to be!

After its original use was no longer active, it was used as storage by the parks as storage until the boulevard system was transferred to the City of Chicago. Through the early 2000s CDOT continued to store landscaping equipment in the building used to maintain the square and boulevards. It escaped demolition multiple times in spite of various plans for re-use and re-design of Logan Square that were floated over the decades.

Curious to learn more? Follow along all month! Are you in a position to make a gift? We ❤️ you! comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate

xo,
Comfort Station

18/12/2024

It’s end-of-year giving season! From now until New Year’s Day, we’ll be sharing news about how Comfort Station came to be, who owns it (hint: you do!), and why your support is integral to our existence.

🤔 What was Comfort Station originally?
Our building was built in 1926 among nine identical structures, all on the boulevard system, which served as travel waiting stations for people riding the trolley along Milwaukee Boulevard. Back then, people may have transferred from the pre-Blue Line train line terminal across the square (where Lula Cafe and other businesses are currently). In Logan Square there were two other stations, one at Kedzie Boulevard and Fullerton Avenue and the other at Armitage Avenue and Humboldt Boulevard, each located on the southwest parkway at the intersection. These buildings were labeled “Comfort Stations”: a euphemism for toilet or rest whose first recorded use in the U.S. was between 1905–1910. All but two of these buildings were eventually torn down (the other being in Columbus Park on the edge of Chicago and Oak Park).

🤔 Why wasn't this Comfort Station building torn down?
The reason why this unique building is still here for us all to enjoy — while nearly all of the other Comfort Stations were town down — is that it was saved through dedicated advocacy of Logan Square Preservation (LSP). In 2005, LSP started a campaign to not only renovate the building but also have it designated as a historic landmark. Through a partnership with the City of Chicago and 35th Ward Alderman Rey Colon, TIF funds were used to clean and restore the building to its original 1926 appearance including complete cleaning and tuckpointing of brick, a new clay tile roof, stucco, tudoring, copper gutters, and restored windows. Upon completion of the renovation project in 2010, Alderman Colon arranged for the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) to lease the property to LSP as a steward of the building, and they remain the leaseholder today.

Curious to learn more? Follow along all month, and consider making a one-time or recurring donation to support us! comfortstationlogansquare.org/donate

Thank you.

❤️, Comfort Station

16/12/2024

💌 Join us for our second annual gala, POSTSCRIPT: A Love Letter to Logan Square!

The gala takes place Friday, February 7, 2025, at Sarabande.

This year, we're celebrating Comfort Station with an emphasis on the neighborhood we live in. Join us for a special welcome cocktail hour with snacks, a seated dinner catered by Txa Txa Club, a paddle + raffle, and an open bar all night to benefit Comfort Station's 2025 programming season. During the meal, we will also honor our 2025 Valentine, artist and community organizer Norma Rios-Sierra of .

The gala will be followed by an open bar afterparty featuring sets from DJs Jordan Knecht, NATE LARGE and Spacey Lacey from 9:30-midnight.

Ticket link in our bio!
💘 Comfort Station

14/12/2024

💌 Set your reminders: Tickets to our second annual gala, POSTSCRIPT: A Love Letter to Logan, go on sale this Monday!

Our gala takes place Friday, February 7, 2025, at the lovely Sarabande. Similar to last year, we will host a dinner + auction, followed by an afterparty.

Stay tuned for more details as they're announced!
💘 Comfort Station

12/12/2024

Take a peak at our current exhibition at Comfort Station, Tracing Ways, featuring work by E. Saffronia Downing and Rosemary Holliday Hall.

The details are definitely worth a closer look - if you weren’t able to make it out for the opening last week, join us this weekend!

Upcoming viewing hours –
Sunday, December 15th
11 a – 2 p

Images courtesy of Mikey Mosher

05/12/2024

Transposing Body

Featured during the Opening Reception of Tracing Ways with work by E. Saffronia Downing and Rosary Holliday Hall.

Piece in collaboration with Bret Schneider’s The Preparator’s Pet Piano project, featured through a series of performances at Comfort Station this past fall.

A track feels like witnessing a ghost—an absent presence etched into the material landscape. In this performance, the path of burrowing beetles is transcribed into musical notation, then played by a player piano, as though by a spectral hand.

04/12/2024

In the sixth iteration of Comfort Station’s Soapbox 2024 Soapbox series, poet Chris Mack (instagram: ) presents a rif concept of mutability in a workshop titled Tough Stuff: Jazz, Rap, and R&B.

Christian Mack is a recording artist, writer, and poet residing in the Oak Park Area. A jazz vocalist by training, Christian is working towards a PhD in English at the University of Illinois on Music Criticism and the Art of Listening.

Join us December 8!

02/12/2024

Join us this weekend in celebrating the opening of Tracing Ways featuring work by E. Saffronia Downing and Rosemary Holliday Hall!

Opening Reception
Saturday, December 7th
4 – 7 p

Including an opening night Performance at 6 p
in collaboration with –
Bret Schneider, piano
Mo Hayden and Kellyn Jackson, movement

Traces of movement, join and disperse– sneakers sink in soft soil, paw prints scamper across the sidewalk, paths of wood-boring beetles embroider a fallen tree. We mark our cohabitation as we criss-cross the continent.

Tracing Ways, is a site-specific installation that draws attention to the tracks and traces of human and more-than-human cohabitants. Living on parallel coasts, collaborators Rosemary Holliday Hall and E. Saffronia Downing, convene at Comfort Station to weave together a collection of tracks gathered from their disparate environments.

For these transient artists, Tracing Ways becomes a stopover, referencing Comfort Station’s history as a space for travelers to pause as they moved through the city. Using clay as a recording device, Downing and Hall capture and suspend the ever-flowing motion of beings against the earth.

Address

Website

http://www.comfortstationlogansquare.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Comfort Station Logan Square posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Comfort Station Logan Square:

Videos

TODAY 4-8 PM Join Comfort Station and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association for a Dia De Muertos celebration on the Comfort Station Lawn. The event will feature food vendors, live music, storytelling, as well as an opportunity to see the memorial flags produced by community members during our series of public workshops with artists Carina Yepez and Erica Littlejohn. The flags will adorn the outdoor installation designed by Via Architects + Diseñadores. In addition to the flags, there will also be ofrendas designed by local artists and community members, as well as an altar community members are invited to contribute to. Our oferenda altar artists include: Divine Collective Naomi "Monstrochika" Martinez Natalia Sustantia Barry "Flash" Allen Lily Be AnySquared Projects Lydia Saaravia DePaul students, in collaboration with Lydia Saravia …with live Jarocho music, DJ’ing by Buenviaje Radio, storytelling by DIVINE collective, dance film by Silvia Diaz Brown, free tamales and pan de muerto, and more! The event is free and open to the public. This project is supported by a City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events 2021 Project Grant Special thanks to: Via Architects + Diseñadores Navillus Woodworks Guero Pallets

Call for artists 2022 is live! Deadline is Nov 10th. Link in bio for more info New this year, we will also be offering ten 30 minute portfolio review sessions on a first come, first served basis. If you are new to submitting exhibition proposals/applications, our hope is that these review sessions will provide concrete feedback that will help you submit a strong application based on your artistic practice. If you are experienced with exhibition proposals, we ask that you refrain from signing up for Portfolio Review sessions. https://comfortstationlogansquare.org/call-for-artists-page

Our #ClosetoThere project with Projeto Ativa (Ativa Salvador) is getting closer and closer! Full list of artists from Chicago and Salvador, Brazil have been announced and we will be announcing full programming soon, with a burst of events happening between August 9th and 19th in partnership with Poetry Foundation & Poetry Magazine, Rebuild Foundation, Spudnik Press Cooperative, Co-Prosperity Sphere, Links Hall, Arts and Public Life and 6018NORTH.