Where to meet up in the West Loop

The West Loop lies just west of the Loop, across the Chicago River. Its old warehouse blocks along Randolph Street and Fulton Market now hold many restaurants, so it suits a group dinner, a weekend brunch or a team outing. Union Station and the Ogilvie Transportation Center are on its east edge, which helps when some of the group rides Metra in from the suburbs.

Places that work as a meeting point:

• the Fulton Market District sign that spans Fulton Market street
• the restaurant blocks of Randolph Street west of Halsted Street
• the Great Hall of Union Station, on Canal Street
• the Morgan station on Lake Street, between Randolph Street and Fulton Market

Getting around

• The Green and Pink lines run above Lake Street, with stops at Clinton, at 540 W. Lake St., and Morgan, at 958 W. Lake St. Morgan has a second exit at Sangamon Street.
• The Blue Line stops at Clinton, at 426 S. Clinton St. next to Union Station, where Amtrak trains stop, and at UIC-Halsted, at 430 S. Halsted St.
• Metra uses two stations here, as its rider FAQ says. The Union Pacific North, Northwest and West lines stop at Ogilvie, at Madison Street and Canal Street. The Milwaukee District, North Central Service, BNSF, SouthWest Service and Heritage Corridor lines stop at Union Station.

At night and on weekends:

• The Blue Line runs at all hours, every day, as the Blue Line page says.
• The Green and Pink lines stop overnight. Their timetables on the Green Line and Pink Line pages end service around 1 a.m. and start again around 4 a.m. on weekdays and 5 a.m. on weekends.