Lake Street Elevated (CTA)
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The Lake Street Elevated, also known as the Lake branch, is a long branch of the
Chicago "L" The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated") is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid tr ...
which is located west of the
Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...
and serves the Green Line for its entire length, as well as the Pink Line east of Ashland Avenue. As of February 2013, the branch serves an average of 27,217 passengers each weekday. It serves the Near West Side, East Garfield Park,
West Garfield Park West Garfield Park on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. It is directly west of Garfield Park. Neighborhood boundaries The boundaries of West Garfield Park are NORTH: W. Kinzie St. ...
, and
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neighborhoods of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, as well as the suburbs Oak Park and
Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...
. It owes its name to Lake Street, the street that the branch overlooks for before continuing its route straight west, adjacent to South Boulevard, towards the terminus at Harlem/Lake.


History

The Lake Street Elevated began regular passenger service on November 6, 1893, from its eastern terminal at Madison Street and Market Street to
California Avenue California Avenue station is a Caltrain station located in Palo Alto, California. It stops at the historical town center of Mayfield, which was annexed by the town of Palo Alto in 1925. The current station structure was built in 1983 and the st ...
. On November 24, 1893, service on the line was extended to Homan Avenue. In March 1894, service on the line was extended to 48th Avenue (now known as
Cicero Avenue Cicero Avenue, also known as Skokie Boulevard in Skokie and Wilmette, is a major north-south street in Chicago and its suburbs in Cook and Will Counties. It carries Illinois Route 50 from its south end to Skokie, and U.S. Route 41 from Skokie ...
) and on April 29, 1894, service was extended to 52nd Avenue (now known as Laramie Avenue), which at the time was the city limits of Chicago. When the completed
Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
opened October 3, 1897, the Lake Street Elevated became the first line to utilize the entire quadrangle. In 1898, an agreement was reached with Cicero Township to extend the Lake Street Elevated beyond the Chicago city limits into what at the time was Cicero Township. This agreement allowed for the extension of the Lake Street Elevated along South Boulevard, as well as the creation of the
Randolph Street Branch and Cuyler Avenue Shuttle The Randolph Street Branch and Cuyler Avenue Shuttle were two different incarnations of a rapid transit line operated in and around Oak Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, by the Lake Street Elevated intermittently between 1899 and 1912. The Ra ...
. The Randolph and Cuyler branches were part of trackage rights given by the Chicago, Harlem & Batavia Railway, its trains continued east to
Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
. On January 25, 1901, service was extended to Wisconsin Avenue (later called Marion), and C&GW service was abandoned. On May 20, 1910, service was extended to its terminal approximately two blocks west of
Harlem Avenue Harlem Avenue is a major north–south street located in Chicago and its west, southwest, and northwest suburbs. It stretches from Glenview Road in Glenview to the intersection of East South Street and South Drecksler Road in Peotone, where ...
in
Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China *Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fores ...
. In April 1948, the Lake Street Elevated was the first line of the 'L' system to use the Skip-Stop A/B service. Upon the implementation of Skip-Stop A/B service ten stations on the Lake Street Elevated were closed, as was the Market Street Stub, and all trains were routed through the
Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
. This new system decreased the travel time of 24–35 minutes, which was considered by the CTA and its users to be a great success. In 1962, of ground level tracks in Chicago's
Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
neighborhood and
Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated in ...
were replaced by elevated tracks which run on Chicago & North Western Railroad's track embankment. New stations were built at
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
,
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, Ridgeland and Oak Park. and a new terminus opened at
Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...
, replacing the station at Marion and the Forest Park terminus.


Market Street stub

Prior to the opening of the Loop elevated in 1897, the Lake Street Elevated's eastern terminus was the
Market Street Terminal The Market Street Terminal was a station on the Chicago "L"'s Lake Street Elevatedtoday part of the Green Linebetween 1893 and 1948. The Elevated's original downtown terminus, it opened at the corner of Madison Street and Market Street (modern ...
at Madison Street and Market Street. After the opening of the Loop in 1897, service continued to the Market Street stub, which had a stop at Randolph & Market in addition to the terminal at Madison & Market. Service to the Market Street stub ended on April 4, 1948, as the CTA implemented its new A/B skip-stop service. The Market Street stub was demolished soon after to make way for construction of
Wacker Drive Wacker Drive is a major multilevel street in Chicago, Illinois, running along the south side of the main branch and the east side of the south branch of the Chicago River in the Loop.Hayner, Don and Tom McNamee, ''Streetwise Chicago'', "Wacker D ...
.


New Morgan station

Construction of the new Morgan station began in Summer 2010. TranSystems led the design team, in conjunction with Ross Barney Architects. Like most currently active Green Line and Pink Line stations, Morgan is ADA-accessible, with an elevator on either side of the tracks. The station will also have bike storage. The new Morgan station officially opened on May 18, 2012, and grand opening ceremonies were held on May 24.


New Damen station

The new $60 million Damen station will fill a 1.5 mile distance between the
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and Ashland stations. a design for the new station was released on July 9, 2018, groundbreaking of the new station began in August 2022, and will be completed in 2024.


Service history

Until 1969, the Lake Branch was an independent branch line providing service in one direction only, like the Ravenswood and Evanston Express Lines: from the Loop to the West Side, Oak Park, and Forest Park. On September 28, 1969, it was paired with the newly opened
Dan Ryan branch The Dan Ryan branch is a long section of the Chicago "L" system located on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is operated by the Chicago Transit Authority, as part of its Red Line service and is normally through-routed downtown towards th ...
to form the Lake–Dan Ryan Line, also called the West-South Route, via the north and east legs of the
Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...
, the
South Side Elevated The South Side Elevated is a branch of the Chicago "L" system in Chicago, Illinois that is served by the Green Line. It has on average 12,509 passengers, counting branch divisions, boarding each weekday as of February 2013, according to the Chi ...
, and the connection along 18th Street. This operation lasted for 24 years. On February 21, 1993, as part of the opening of the Orange Line, the CTA began to differentiate the "L" lines by colors, and the present day Green Line routing was introduced, effectively swapping the full South Side Elevated with the Dan Ryan branch, which was instead paired with the
North Side Main Line The North Side Main Line is a branch of the Chicago "L" system that is used by Red, Purple, and Brown Line trains. As of 2012, it is the network's busiest rail branch, serving an average of 123,229 passengers each weekday. The branch is long wi ...
via the
State Street subway The State Street subway is an underground section of the Chicago "L" system in The Loop which serves as the center of the Red Line. It is long and has a boarding average of 53,601 passengers every weekday as of February 2013. It owes its name t ...
using a new connection. On January 9, 1994, the Lake Street Elevated and the entire Green Line closed for two years for a rehabilitation project. When the line reopened on May 12, 1996, most stations were rebuilt and equipped with elevators in order to make them ADA compliant, and six stations were permanently closed. On April 26, 1998, the Green,
Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, pu ...
, and
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lines lost their 24-hour service. In 2006, the CTA introduced the Pink Line routing, which runs trains from the
Cermak branch The Cermak branch, formerly known as the Douglas branch, is a long section of the Pink Line of the Chicago "L" system in Chicago, Illinois. It was built by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated west of the Loop. As of February 2013, it serves an a ...
to the Loop via the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street Elevated east of Paulina Street.


Station listing


Image gallery

File:1 of 2 Photos. On the slide mount Roger wrote, "CTA Lake St. B-train racing C&NW freight near Laramie Ave., Chicago, IL in May 1967." (25526453680).jpg, The transition from embankment to elevated over Lake Street in 1967. The
C&NW The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...
freight train is at left. Image:Laramie CTA Green Line Station.jpg, The Laramie station is one of the most structured along the Lake Branch Image:19960302 02 CTA Green Line L @ Harlem Ave. yard.jpg, A Green Line train sits in the Harlem Yard Image:20120418 06 CTA Green Line @ Harlem Ave..jpg, A Green Line train sits at the Harlem/Lake terminal


See also

*
Lake Street Elevated Railroad The Lake Street Elevated Railroad was the second permanent elevated rapid transit line to be constructed in Chicago, Illinois. The first section of the line opened in November 1893. Its route is still used today as part of the Green Line route of ...


References


External links


Green Line: Lake Street Elevated
at Chicago-L.org {{Chicago L Chicago Transit Authority Railway lines in Chicago