Harlem/Lake station

Harlem/Lake, announced as Harlem, is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, serving the Green Line. It is the northwestern terminus of the Green Line.

Harlem/Lake   1200W 100S
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
Station platform, looking east. The Oak Park Metra station can be seen in the background.
General information
Location	1 South Harlem Avenue Forest Park, Illinois 60130
Coordinates	41.88706°N 87.80486°W / 41.88706; -87.80486
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	Lake Branch
Platforms	1 Island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	Metra: Oak Park CTA Buses Pace Buses
Construction
Structure type	Elevated
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	October 28, 1962
Rebuilt	1996
Previous names	Harlem Terminal Harlem
Passengers
2022	511,312[1]  12.3%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Terminus Green Line Oak Park toward Ashland/63rd or Cottage Grove
Track layout Legend Harlem Yard (Green) UP-W west to Elburn Circle Ave. IL 43 (Harlem Ave.) ↖Forest Park|River Forest↗ ↓Oak Park Green ends Green Harlem/Lake North Blvd.   Marion St. South Blvd. UP-W Oak Park Green to Ashland/63rd or Cottage Grove UP-W east to Ogilvie
Location

History

Harlem destination sign

The station opened on October 28, 1962 and was formerly called Harlem Terminal. The Lake Street Elevated went further through Oak Park and was built to Marion Street in 1901 and extended just a few blocks west past Harlem Avenue to Forest Park station on May 20, 1910. It was built at street-level and the tracks also paralleled the adjacent Chicago & North Western Railroad and the street-level operation began to result a number of crossing accidents for both railroads, typically due to pedestrians and wagon drivers failing to take note of approaching trains. Neither the "L" nor the C&NW had any type of crossing protection originally. Harlem was a consolidation of the Forest Park and Marion stations.

Location

The station is located at 1 South Harlem Avenue and is the northwestern terminus of the Green Line. Though the station is named Harlem/Lake, Lake Street does not intersect with the station; the station is located at Harlem Avenue and South Boulevard. The station is next to the Oak Park Metra commuter railroad station. It is located between the Oak Park and Forest Park boundary line at Harlem Avenue.

Bus and rail connections

CTA

• 90 Harlem

Pace

• 307 Harlem
• 309 Lake Street
• 313 St. Charles Road
• 318 West North Avenue

Metra

• Union Pacific West Line

See also

• Harlem (CTA Blue Line Congress branch station)
• Harlem (CTA Blue Line O'Hare branch station)

References

1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.

External links

• Harlem/Lake Station Page
• Harlem Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Marion Street entrance (also to Metra) from Google Maps Street View