Clark/Lake (CTA station)

Clark/Lake
File:Clark Lake CTA 060716.jpg Clark/Lake elevated platforms
Location	100-124 West Lake Street Chicago, Illinois 60601
Coordinates
Owned by	Chicago Transit Authority (elevated) City of Chicago (subway)
Line(s)
Platforms	2 Side platforms (elevated) 1 Island platform (subway)
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	Subway (Blue) & Elevated (Loop)
Depth	40 ft (Blue Line platform)
Platform levels	3
Bicycle facilities	Yes
Disabled access	Yes
History
Opened	Elevated Platforms: September 22, 1895 Subway Platform: February 25, 1951
Rebuilt	March 23, 1992
Previous names	Lake Transfer (Subway)
Traffic
Passengers (2014)	5,573,235  0.5% (CTA)
Rank	2 out of 143
Services
Preceding station   Chicago "L"   Following station   Subway station   Grand toward O'Hare Blue Line Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway Washington toward Forest Park   Elevated station   Clinton toward Harlem/Lake Green Line State/Lake toward Ashland/63rd or Cottage Grove State/Lake One-way operation Brown Line Merchandise Mart toward Kimball Washington/Wells One-way operation Orange Line State/Lake toward Midway Merchandise Mart One-way operation Purple Line State/Lake toward Linden Clinton One-way operation Pink Line State/Lake toward 54th/Cermak
Route map Legend Elevated station Brown and Green Lines west to Kimball and Harlem/Lake LaSalle St. Thompson Center Clark St. Purple, Orange, Green, and Pink Lines east to Linden, Midway, Ashland/63rd, Cottage Grove, and 54th/Cermak   Subway station Lake St. Blue Line west to O'Hare Wells St. LaSalle St. Thompson Center Clark St. Blue Line east to Forest Park

Clark/Lake is a Chicago 'L' station located at 100/124 West Lake Street in Chicago's Loop district, and is accessed from the James R. Thompson Center and 203 North LaSalle building. It is one of the most complex stations on the 'L' system, comprising an elevated station and a subway station. The elevated station is serviced by the Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple Lines, while the subway platform is serviced by the Blue Line. In December 2014 it had an average of 17,644 weekday passenger entrances, making it the second busiest station in the 'L' system. The Richard J. Daley Center, Chicago City Hall, and Chicago Title and Trust Center are also served by the station. It is the busiest station on the Loop Elevated, and the second busiest station on the 'L' system as of December 2014.

History

Clark/Lake is a super station consisting of two stations that have been merged into one. The original elevated station opened on September 22, 1895 as one of three stations on the Lake Street Elevated Railroad's "Wabash extension". This extension became the Lake Street leg of the Union Loop when it was completed in 1897. The subway station opened as Lake Transfer on February 25, 1951. In 1992, the elevated station was reconstructed, with its main entrance in the James R. Thompson Center. This enabled transfer between the elevated station and the subway station without leaving the paid area, and so the stations were combined into a single facility. Due to this, it is the one station that serves six of the eight lines. The Blue Line services the subway platform while the Green, Orange, Brown, Pink and Purple Lines serve the elevated station.

Bus connections

CTA

• #22 Clark (Owl Service)
• #24 Wentworth
• #134 Stockton/LaSalle Express
• #135 Clarendon/LaSalle Express
• #136 Sheridan/LaSalle Express
• #156 LaSalle

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

• Clark/Lake on CTA website
• Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. IL-1-E, "Union Elevated Railroad, Clark Street Station"
• Clark Street entrance to elevated line from Google Maps Street View
• Lake Street entrance to Thompson Center from Google Maps Street View
• Wells Street entrance to subway from Google Maps Street View

File:Clark-Lake.jpg

Clark/Lake subway platform in 2009

File:Clark Lake Blue Line.jpg

Clark/Lake subway platform in 2013