[2] The original station on this site opened with the Lake Street Elevated in November 1893 and closed due to low ridership in April 1948 before being demolished early the following year.

For the rest of the 20th century, the nearby Halsted station served the community before it too closed in 1994, leaving a sizeable gap between Clinton and Ashland.

After years of intense lobbying by local residents and members of the Fulton Market Merchant Association,[3] the Chicago Department of Transportation rebuilt the station from 2010–2012.

[17] The newly created CTA closed the original Morgan station alongside nine others on the Lake Street Elevated on April 4, 1948, due to their low ridership and to speed up service along the line.

The closure of Halsted was unpopular, and since that date, community residents, businesses, and local organizations have argued that this area needs a new "infill station" to restore rail service.

Heightening the need for a new station, significant amounts of growth have occurred near the line in the last 15 years, including large residential buildings and many popular restaurants and nightclubs.

In the early 2000s, the CTA began to work with local groups and city officials to plan and identify funding sources for the new station.

Later, however, the Chicago Department of Transportation decided to seek federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program funding to cover $8 million of the cost, allowing some of the TIF money to be used for other purposes.

[23] The construction of the Lake Street Elevated's stations was contracted to Frank L. Underwood of Kansas City and Willard R. Green of New York,[24] who subcontracted to the Lloyd and Pennington Company.