Harlem/Lake (7200W/100S)
Harlem Avenue and South Boulevard, City of Oak Park/City of Forest Park

Service Notes:

	Green Line: Lake
	Accessible Station (Marion entrance only)
	Transfer to Metra: Union Pacific - West Line

Quick Facts:

Address:	1 S. Harlem Avenue (Harlem entrance)
	1 S. Marion Avenue (Marion entrance)

Established: October 28, 1962
Original Line: Lake Street Line
Previous Names: Harlem Terminal, Harlem

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: 1996
Status: In Use

History: Above: The Harlem/Lake terminal, looking northwest on June 20, 1998. The station has changed very little since it opened in 1964 (see top photo). It even still sports its massive steel CTA shield logo! For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield) Below: The island platform at Harlem/Lake, looking west in 1999. Except for new signage, windbreaks, and refuse cans, the platform is largely unchanged from its 1962 opening. For a larger view, click here. (Photo by Graham Garfield) Elevation of the Chicago Transit Authority's "L" tracks through Oak Park was completed and placed in operation on October 28, 1962. The 2 1/2 mile relocation eliminated 22 grade crossings and made operations faster. The four mid-line stations (Central, Austin, Ridgeland, and Oak Park) were replaced with new station houses and island platforms able to accommodate an eight-car train. Also as part of the elevation, the Marion station and Forest Park terminal were replaced with a new terminal facility half way between at Harlem Avenue. The permanent Harlem station was put into service in January 1963 and the terminal was completed in 1964 at a cost of $3,000,000 with the opening of the car yard. Car storage in the yard beyond the station was expanded to accommodate 86 cars. Space was also provided west of the yard for construction of a car inspection shop. The passenger station consists of an island platform stretching from Harlem to Marion, a two-story tan brick station at Harlem and South Boulevard, and an auxiliary entrance on South Boulevard at Marion Street. The station facility included fare controls and concessions on the first floor with stairs and a unidirectional escalator up to the second story platform, an electric substation, and a transportation office on the second floor with a trainmen's room. The exterior is solid tan brick with a metal coping along the roofline. The first level east and south elevations fronting the streets are broken up by numerous doors, picture windows and lime green glazed bricks and Plexiglas, but the second story has only a few small windows and a large steel CTA shield logo to break the monotony of the plain exterior. The modern structure has gone largely unchanged since its opening three and a half decades ago. The Green Line (of which the Lake Line is now a part) closed in 1994 for a two year renovation and rehabilitation. Little work was needed on the two-story Harlem/Lake transportation facility, but the Marion entrance a block east was completely rebuilt to modern standards. Now making the station ADA-compliant, the reconstructed Marion was of red and white steel in a Postmodern design with large, overhanging eaves on platform canopy. Work at this entrance continued far past the May 1996 reopening of the line, with completion reached when the elevator opened for use at 0600 hours on January 26, 1998. Following the reopening of the Green Line and the use of destination signs instead of route signs on trains, Harlem was renamed Harlem/Lake to help differentiate it from the three other Harlem stations on the "L" (although Lake Street is actually two blocks north of the station).

The Marion entrance of the Harlem/Lake station, looking northwest on June 20, 1998. (Photo by Graham Garfield)

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	harlem-lake_yard.jpg (272k) Car storage facilities at Harlem/Lake were expanded to accommodate 86 cars in 1964. Space was also made available at the west end of the yard for the construction of a car inspection shop. (It was indeed later built.) (Photo from the CTA 1964 Annual Report)
	cta2230.jpg (138k) Car 2230 leads a Lake-Dan Ryan "B" at Harlem Terminal in Forest Park on September 23, 1976. (Photo by Doug Grotjahn, Collection of Joe Testagrose)
	cta2112.jpg (135k) A Lake-Dan Ryan "A" train of mixed cars, led by 2112, sits at Harlem terminal on September 23, 1976. "Oak Park-All American City" (cars 2111-2112) were a set of Bicentennials made (after most of the Bicentennials) to honor the namesake Chicago suburb at a time when Oak Park was upset at being subjugated (at least in their eyes) to the City by the CTA in terms of service and rolling stock. (Photo by Doug Grotjahn, Collection of Joe Testagrose)
	cta2000s05.jpg A Lake "A" train of 2000-series cars pulls out from Harlem Yard into Harlem Terminal at the west end of the Lake Line circa the 1960s. Note the 1960s-style destination sign and original paint scheme. (Photo from the Mike Farrell Collection)
	cta2420b.jpg (76k) Car 2420 leads an Ashland/63 Green Line train at Harlem/Lake station. (Photo by Sean Gash)
	cta2454b.jpg Car 2454 is at one end of a Green Line stopping at the Harlem/Lake terminal at the west end of the Lake Line on August 10, 2001. (Photo by Mike Farrell)