 The switch was made to better serve the University of Chicago and the Museum of Science and Industry.This station, and the adjacent 53rd Street station, were rebuilt in 2002 with concrete platforms to replace wooden platforms built in the 1920s.Until November 2014 (when the staffed station closed), this was the only station along the route outside of Downtown Chicago's two main stations that had a staffed ticket office, as many express trains on both lines stop at the station and it is the South Side's main station.