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History:
The Clark/Lake tri-level facility is the
CTA's® largest, most
complex station and one of its busiest (third busiest as of
1998, behind Washington/State
and 95/Dan Ryan). It was created in
1992 when the Clark/Lake
elevated station and the Lake
Transfer subway station -- which previously had separate
fare controls and mezzanines -- were renovated and had their
passenger access relocated to the same building. This makes
for both a complicated station and a complicated
history. Below are brief histories of the elevated and
subway stations (with links to more in-depth profiles as
well), followed by the history of the current Clark/Lake
complex post-1992, when the current facility was
created.
Loop Elevated
Station
Clark/Lake elevated
station, looking south in 1983. For a larger view,
click here.
(Photo by Dan Clement,
from the Collection of the Library of
Congress)
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The Clark/Lake
elevated station was opened in 1895, constructed before the
rest of the Loop on tracks that, while originally part of
the Lake Street line, were always meant to be the north leg
of a downtown loop, connecting at Wabash. The original
Clark station quite small and
incorporated elements from many styles, including some
Classical Revival elements and features reminiscent of a
Chinese pagoda. It had an ornate station house as well as
the decorative railings and platform canopy pillars.
In 1913, many of the Loop stations underwent a number of
renovations and it seems Clark/Lake was one of them. The
original trackside waiting rooms were removed and new open
booths were installed. Left intact, however, were much of
the roofs, all platform canopies, posts, railings and many
other features. The station house enclosure was quite small
-- no wider than about 30-40 feet -- but the roof extended
wider, about the width of Clark Street below. Later, the
CTA® modified the
building and enclosed the area below the roof with plywood
and fiberglass panels, giving the station house a piecemeal,
disorganized look.
Clark had fallen into a serious state of disrepair when
renovations began in 1988 for the replacement of the old
elevated facility with a new, modern, white steel station, a
common design for new "L" stations referred to as the "open
plan concept." Beginning in January 1992, Clark/Lake was
closed weekends for the last of the reconstruction work,
which was largely completed a few months later.
The new station is actually located west of the old
station, between Clark and LaSalle. The new elevated
platform has a canopy that stretches the entire width of the
structure, with a convex skylight down the center. This
elaborate reconstruction was part of a new tri-level station
that connects the elevated with the ground-level street with
the O'Hare-Congress-Douglas subway station formally known as
Lake Transfer.
For additional
information and photos of the Clark/Lake elevated station
(1895-1992), click here
to see the Clark/Lake elevated station
profile.
Dearborn Subway
Station
Passengers wait to
board a northbound "A" train near the LaSalle-Clark
mezzanine at the east end of Lake Transfer station
in late 1958. For a larger view, click
here.
(Photo from the Graham Garfield
Collection)
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The Lake
Transfer subway station, which opened in February 1951,
was typical of all the Dearborn and State Street subway
stations. Described at the time as of a "modern design", the
mezzanine stations -- the main mezzanine entrance being at
LaSalle-Clark/Lake, with an auxiliary mezzanine entrance at
Wells/Lake -- had smooth concrete floors and ceilings and
white glazed tile walls (sometimes referred to as
"structural glass") in an Art Moderne style.
The origins of the combined Clark/Lake "L"/subway complex
can be traced back to 1958, when the West-Northwest
through-route was created between the Milwaukee elevated,
Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway, the Congress and Douglas lines.
At that time, "L"/subway transfers 'up' were inaugurated
between the Clark/Lake
elevated station and the Lake
Transfer subway station (whose entrances were 1/2 block
apart), although 'down' transfers from the Loop to the
subway were prohibited here (these were accomplished between
State/Van Buren
and Jackson-Van Buren/Dearborn). In 1969, a new
through-routing once again brought a change to the transfer
policy between the Loop and the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway.
With the beginning of West-South Route (Lake-Dan Ryan)
service, all transfers -- both 'up' and 'down' -- were
changed to between Lake
Transfer and Clark/Lake.
For additional
information and photos of the Clark/Lake subway station
(1951-1992), click here
to see the Lake Transfer subway station
profile.
State of Illinois Center Begins
Consolidation
In May 1985, the new $173 million State of Illinois
Center (SOIC) was completed and occupied. Only 17 stories
tall (with two additional levels below grade) but
monumentally designed by Helmut Jahn, the Center stands
apart from surrounding office buildings because of its
dome-shape and its multicolored glass exterior. With a low
block design, the glass-enclosed steel structure's curving,
sloping facade faces the corner of Randolph Street and Clark
Street.
In 1986, the LaSalle-Clark mezzanine of Lake
Transfer was closed for renovation and integration into
the new SOIC. The mezzanine was already located mid-block
between LaSalle and Clark (where the SOIC is) and at the
same level as the first basement floor. During the duration
of construction, the previously part-time entrance at
Wells/Lake was made a full-time entrance. In 1989, the
reconstruction was complete and the east entrance to
Lake Transfer was reopened.
The space previously occupied by the station mezzanine and
fare controls at LaSalle-Clark were wiped out and completely
remodeled, now all within the paid area. Likewise, the
mezzanine-to-street stairs were completely removed. The fare
controls were now located in two places: in the basement
level of the SOIC (near the food court) and at street level
in the SOIC, connected to the basement/mezzanine level by
two elevators, two escalators, and stairs. At that time, the
Wells/Lake entrance returned to entrance during the weekday
PM rush hours only.
Further renovation came to Lake
Transfer in 1991 when an additional entrance to the
former LaSalle-Clark mezzanine was opened with the
construction of the new 203 N. LaSalle Building (aka the
Loop Transportation Building, completed in 1985), across
Lake Street from the State of Illinois Center. Like in the
SOIC, passengers could enter the 203 N. LaSalle Building
mid-block on Lake Street, enter through street-level fare
controls, travel down to the basement level by stairs or
elevator, and access the subway mezzanine through a new
subterranean passageway.
A 'Super-Station' is
Created
On March 23, 1992, the Clark/Lake
elevated station's entrances over Clark Street were closed
and new access opened from the newly-constructed elevated
platforms to the State of Illinois Center and 203 N. LaSalle
Building. With all access to both the Loop and subway
stations through the same access points -- also allowing
transfers without leaving a paid area -- the subway and
elevated stations were combined into a single facility known
as Clark/Lake, with the subway station thus dropping the
Lake Transfer moniker.
On May 10, 1993 the State of Illinois Center was
rededicated as the James
R. Thompson Center in honor of former Governor James R.
Thompson.
The modernization
of the Clark/Lake station is mostly complete in
this July 1, 1996 photo. The central arch is better
illuminated by decorative steel conduit covers and
fluorescent lights. Visible on the outer wall is a
prototype for the new CTA station signage, which
was first standardized on the rehabbed Green Line.
For a larger view, click here.
(Photo by Art Peterson)
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The final phases of the renovation of the Clark/Lake subway
station were initiated in 1995. During the summer, the
Wells/Lake auxiliary entrance was closed for reconstruction.
On December 16, 1995, the
CTA® operated a
special work train (comprised of work motors 2891-2900 and
flat cars S-604 and S-607) from Forest
Park to transport the new escalator for the Wells/Lake
entrance. During the winter of 1995-96, new lighting
fixtures, both trackside and on the platform, were
installed. Sound absorbing panels were installed on the
tunnel walls in January 1996 (which, interestingly enough,
covered up the barely-visible sealed-up intersection between
the subway and the old LaSalle Street streetcar tunnel). New
Current Graphic
Standard signage and platform furniture were installed
during March and April of 1996.
On May 28, 1996, the Wells/Lake entrance renovation was
completed, reopened as of 1430 hours. Wells/Lake returned to
be being a part-time entrance -- between 1400 and 1800 hours
weekdays only -- but a full-time exit. Although an agent's
booth was installed, no agent was regularly assigned:
entrance was only with exact change, tokens, or transfer
cards to be deposited in automated turnstiles. Exit was, of
course, through rotogates.
By the summer of 1996, that platform modernization was
largely complete, with better illumination achieved with
fluorescent lights in the central archway covered by steel
grating. The columns were painted blue, denoting the
station's place on the Blue Line. (They were later repainted
white.) The outer tunnel walls were covered with gray
sound-absorption panels and new Current
Graphic Standard signage (identical to that pioneered on
the rehabbed Green Line) was applied. The name signs used
white letters on a charcoal background (gray would
ultimately be used), with blue panels on either side
containing entrance/exit information. Backlit above-platform
destination signs, mimicking the new destination signs used
on trains, were installed.
In April 1996, the fare controls in the basement of the
Thompson Center (near the food court) were made available
for entrance 24 hours a day. No agent was assigned (although
there are agent's booths): entrance was only with exact
change, tokens, or transfer cards as at Wells/Lake. In the
Summer 1997, with the institution of the
CTA's® electronic
TransitCard fare system, this entrance was modified for
unattended entrance with fare cards. In Fall 1998, the
Lake/Wells entrance/exit received new high barrier gates,
allowing it to serve as an entrance at all hours with use of
an electronic TransitCard -- rather than only during the
afternoon rush period -- making it now a full-time, if
unattended, entrance.
At a press conference on Monday, June 5, 2000,
CTA® President Frank
Kruesi announced that beginning Saturday, June 10th and
Sunday, June 11th, six downtown area 'L' and subway stations
and seven station entrances that were currently closed late
at night or on weekends would be open at all hours that
trains are in service. One of the seven secondary station
entrances was was a Part-Time Entrance -- closed nights and
weekends -- was the 203 N. LaSalle entrance to Clark/Lake
station. Starting at 0600 hours Saturday, June 10th, 203 N.
LaSalle entrance returned to 24-hour operation. Opening
these stations and entrances is just one of the components
of a $539,000 service improvement package that was passed by
the Chicago Transit Board in May 2000.
Today, the Clark/Lake tri-level facility is the
CTA's® largest, most
complex station and one of its busiest. That complexity is
both a great advantage to passengers -- Clark/Lake provides
the easiest, most convenient transfer between the elevated
and the subway -- but can also be confusing to the
uninitiated. Signage is somewhat of a problem at the
station, with some providing unclear transfer directions and
some simply out-of-date and inaccurate (such as the sign
directing passengers to "Jackson
Park trains to Dorchester/63". The
CTA® is, however,
looking at addressing Clark/Lake's signage issues as of Fall
2001 with a new signage initiative to be tested at this
station.
Examples of the
Station Identity Signs, on the Outer Loop platform
(left) and on the Inner Loop platform (right) on
October 30, 2001. For a larger view for the top
photo, click here.
For a larger view for the bottom photo, click
here.
(Photos by Graham Garfield)
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The possible solution to this problem has come in the form
of a test program currently being undertaken at the
Clark/Lake elevated station. The new signage scheme was
developed by Frankle Brand Environments and Monigle
Associates and is known as the "Frankle-Monigle
signage". The program is designed to develop signs that
better direct customers to their destinations by displaying
the color-coded train routes that stop at the station and
their terminal destinations; arrows that direct customers
toward exits to main streets, buses, major landmarks and
transfer points; and street numbers that guide customers to
points and interest. The Frankle-Monigle
signage system consists of many parts, including:
The extent to which the Frankle-Monigle
signage system is implemented at the Clark/Lake pilot site
is determined by several factors, including time, money, and
the scope of the pilot program. Whether they are implemented
systemwide someday, and to what extent, will depend on their
evaluation and acceptance by the public and by
CTA® personnel at the
pilot site.
The deployment of the prototype Frankle-Monigle
signage began in October 2001 with the installation of
station name signs and various "breadcrumbs" (smaller signs,
such as "No Smoking") on the elevated platform and in the
Thompson Center station facility. Installation continued
through late January 2002, by which time most of the
elements were in place. Among the later additions to be
installed is the Directional/Transfer Signage, which
indicate a line transfer opportunity for the rider or show
the way to different exits, streets, buses, or points of
interest. Also installed were information kiosks that
information can be posted in and the large Station Markers,
which are kiosks that draw attention to the location of "L"
stations and provide information about the services provided
at that station from street-level environments, have been
installed on Lake Street outside both the Thompson Center
and 203 N. LaSalle entrances.
The Frankle-Monigle
signage has been installed in the Thompson Center and 203 N.
LaSalle stations at the lower subway-mezzanine level, street
level, and elevated platform levels. They have also been
installed on the elevated Clark/Lake
platforms. A set of Directional/Transfer signs have also
been installed on either side of the elevator in the subway,
marking the only Frankle-Monigle sign to be installed in the
Blue Line subway station during the test.
On June 6, 2005, the
CTA® launched a pilot
program at eight rail stations (as well as on 10 of its
wide-door Nova buses) to help speed boarding for customers
by dedicating one turnstile as an express fare payment lane
(called a "Go Lane") for those paying with either Chicago
Card (regular or Plus) smartcard fare media. The dedicated
lanes are identified by signs over the turnstile and on the
floor in front of it. The eight selected rail stations in
addition to both the Thompson Center and 203 N. LaSalle
entrances to Clark/Lake were Howard,
Chicago, 79th
and 95th/Dan Ryan on the Red Line;
Jefferson Park on the Blue
Line; and the Randolph-Washington mezzanine of Washington/State,
and the Randolph-Washington mezzanine of Washington/Dearborn
downtown. CTA® chose
these stations because they are geographically balanced and
serve a high volume of customers who transfer between bus
and rail.
The pilot was conducted to determine if providing a
dedicated turnstile at stations would help to speed boarding
and, therefore, speed service. The pilot also provided an
additional incentive for customers to switch to Chicago Card
fare options. The faster and easier the boarding process,
the more the transit experience is improved for existing
customers. Faster boarding also helps to attract new
customers.
CTA® monitored the
Go Lane boarding times during morning and evening rush
periods to measure time saved during boarding, as well as
the ratio of customers using electronic fare media compared
to cash or transit cards. Customer reaction and ease of use
were also evaluated as part of the pilot to determine
whether use of Go Lanes should expand.
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