Harlem station (CTA Blue Line O'Hare branch)

Harlem is a Chicago "L" station serving the Blue Line's O'Hare branch in Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood. It is not to be confused with the other Harlem Blue Line station. Trains run from Harlem every 2–7 minutes during rush hour, and take 30–45 minutes to travel to the Loop.^[2] O'Hare-bound trains take 10 minutes to reach the airport from Harlem. The station is located in the median of the Kennedy Expressway.

Harlem   7200W 5600N
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location	5550 North Harlem Avenue Chicago, Illinois 60656
Coordinates	41.982456°N 87.80705°W / 41.982456; -87.80705
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority
Line(s)	O'Hare Branch
Platforms	1 Island platform
Tracks	2
Connections	CTA and Pace Buses
Construction
Structure type	Expressway median
Parking	53 Spaces
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Accessible	Yes
History
Opened	February 27, 1983; 41 years ago (1983-02-27)
Rebuilt	2016, 2024-25
Passengers
2022	408,194[1]  26.3%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station Cumberland toward O'Hare Blue Line Jefferson Park toward Forest Park
Track layout Legend Blue to O'Hare I-90 (Kennedy Expy.) IL 43 (Harlem Ave.) Blue to Forest Park
Location

Harlem station opened on February 27, 1983 as part of the 7.9-mile extension of the West-Northwest Route from Jefferson Park to River Road.^[3] Similar to the 1970-built stations on the previous Kennedy Extension (Addison to Jefferson Park), Harlem station sits in the median of the Kennedy Expressway (Interstate 90). Where the previous Kennedy stations were all designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM) to be aesthetically similar in appearance, stations on the O'Hare Extension beyond Jefferson Park were designed by four different firms in a variety of architectural styles. The Harlem station, the only one designed by SOM, shares a similar boxy, open design of the previous 1970 Kennedy Extension (and the 1969-built Dan Ryan stations), except the newer Harlem station has an enclosed platform canopy where the support frame was designed on the highway median walls, thus providing an unobstructed platform, free of column supports. An almost identical canopy frame was also employed at the Cumberland station, however, it was designed another architectural super-giant, Perkins + Will.

Bus connections

CTA

• 88 Higgins
• 90 Harlem

Pace

• 209 Busse Highway (Weekdays only)
• 423 Linden CTA/The Glen/Harlem CTA (Weekdays only)

Gallery

• 
  Harlem Transit Center Sign, November 2007
• 
  Harlem Station Mural, February 2008
• 
  View of the Kennedy Expressway from the platform, November 2007

See also

• Harlem (CTA Blue Line Congress branch)
• Harlem/Lake (CTA Green Line)

References

1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
2. "Blue Line Route-wide Timetable" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority. February 7, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
3. Young, David; John C White (February 27, 1983). "First Link of O'Hare Line Opens". Chicago Tribune. p. 1.

External links

• Harlem (O'Hare Line) Station Page
• Harlem Avenue entrance from Google Maps Street View
• Bus Terminal Entrance along Bryn Mawr Avenue from Google Maps Street View
• Bus Terminal Entrance along Higgins Avenue from Google Maps Street View