Oak Park
 
800W
100S
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location100 South Oak Park Avenue
Oak Park, Illinois 60302
Coordinates41°53′12″N 87°47′40″W / 41.886784°N 87.794323°W / 41.886784; -87.794323
Line(s)Lake Branch
Platforms1 Island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeElevated
History
OpenedJanuary 25, 1901
RebuiltOctober 28, 1962
Passengers
2022181,093[1] Increase 32.2%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Harlem/Lake
Terminus
 Green Line Ridgeland
toward Ashland/63rd or Cottage Grove
Former services
Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station
Marion Street
toward Geneva
 Galena Division Ridgeland
toward Chicago
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Marion
Closed 1962
toward Forest Park
 Lake Street Elevated Ridgeland
toward Loop
(Randolph/Wells) or Market Terminal
Location

Oak Park is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system situated between the Ridgeland and Harlem stations on the Green Line. It is located at Oak Park Avenue and South Boulevard in the village of Oak Park, Illinois and is the closest station to the Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio.

History

Oak Park station was opened on January 25, 1901, by the Lake Street Elevated Railroad as a surface-level station on the line that ran parallel to the former Chicago and Northwestern Railway line (today's Union Pacific / West Line). Both lines created an unsafe grade crossing, especially as the community moved from horse-powered vehicles to the automobile. When the C&NW elevated its line between 1908 and 1909, it created a blind spot for traffic trying to cross the Lake Street Line.

On October 28, 1962, the station was elevated on an embankment and the main entrance was rebuilt by taking advantage of the small space along the road to include a ticket window and enclosed waiting rooms. When the Green Line closed for a renovation project in 1994, the CTA had planned to permanently close the Oak Park station along with four other stations (Austin, Laramie, Homan and Halsted). However, due to the political pressure and complaints of residents, the station was retained without being rebuilt and reopened with the Green Line on May 12, 1996. When it reopened, a committee of residents of Oak Park with disabilities strongly protested it as one of the few stations of the Green Line that is not accessible to people with disabilities.[2]

Bus connections

Pace

  • 309 Lake Street
  • 311 Oak Park Avenue
  • 313 St. Charles Road

References

  1. ↑ "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Oak Park (Lake Street Line) Station Page
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.