Forest Park station

Forest Park is a station on the Chicago Transit Authority's 'L' system, located in the village of Forest Park, Illinois and serving the Blue Line. Before the Congress Line was built, it served as terminal for the Garfield Line. It is the western terminus of the Forest Park branch. The station was known as Des Plaines until 1994. It is also referred to as the Forest Park Transit Center by Pace because it is a major terminal for Pace buses.[2] The station contains a 1051-space Park and Ride lot which uses the "Pay and Display" system, in which fees are paid at the lot entrance. It is located south of the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad tracks which curve to the north of the station towards Madison Street where the line rechristens itself to the Canadian National Railway's Waukesha Subdivision.

For the demolished Lake Street "L" terminal, see Forest Park station (CTA Lake branch).
Forest Park
 
7650W
700S
Chicago 'L' rapid transit station
General information
Location711 Des Plaines Avenue
Forest Park, Illinois 60130
Coordinates41.874257°N 87.817318°W / 41.874257; -87.817318
Owned byChicago Transit Authority, Village of Forest Park
Line(s)Forest Park Branch
Platforms1 island platform
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeElevated
Parking 1051 spaces
AccessibleYes
History
OpenedMarch 11, 1905
Rebuilt1953, 1959, 1981–1982
Previous namesDes Plaines
Passengers
2022356,015[1] Increase 6.4%
Services
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Terminus Blue Line
 Harlem
toward O'Hare
Former services
Preceding station Chicago Great Western Railway Following station
Maywood
toward Omaha
 Omaha – Chicago Chicago
Terminus
Preceding station Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad Following station
Altenheim
toward Thatcher's Park
 Chicago & Northern Pacific – Main Line South Oak Park
toward Chicago
Preceding station Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad Following station
5th Avenue–Maywood
toward Wheaton
 Main Line Oak Park
One-way operation
Preceding station Chicago "L" Following station
Terminus Garfield Park branch Hannah
Closed 1952
toward Marshfield
5th Avenue
Closed 1951
toward Mannheim/22nd
 Westchester branch Terminus
Location

History
Forest Park destination sign

Forest Park opened in 1902, as a local interurban station on the Aurora Elgin and Chicago Railway. On March 11, 1905, the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad extended its Garfield Park rapid transit service west over the tracks of the Aurora Elgin and Chicago. An amusement park was located in this lot for 14 years (1908-1922) when an enormous fire incinerated parts of it, causing it to be shut down permanently. At this time Forest Park became the western terminal for the 'L' while continuing to serve as an interurban station. In 1958, the Congress Branch opened in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway, the Blue Line was rerouted and connected to the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway Station LaSalle making Forest Park, the southern terminus of the Blue Line. Forest Park, however, is one of the few stations in the Congress Branch line that is not in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway, and is 350 meters (1,148 ft 4 in) north of it. In 1966, the park-and-ride schedule of 1051 seats was opened and a new station was built and completed in December 1982 along with the Transit Center that provides connection to many bus lines.

On August 23, 2006, a new pedestrian bridge was lifted into place over the Des Plaines River between Maywood and Forest Park. The bridge and new approaches permit a direct crossing over the Des Plaines River, allowing the main stem of the Illinois Prairie Path to terminate further east, at the Forest Park station. The bridge and approaches opened in late October 2006, after lighting and emergency call boxes were installed.[3]

On December 16, 2012, the CTA discontinued the 17 Westchester route, leaving only Pace buses to serve Forest Park.[4]

The station is open 24 hours a day/7 days a week and 1,175,588 passengers used the station in 2011.

Bus connections

Pace

  • 301 Roosevelt Road
  • 303 Forest Park-Rosemont
  • 305 East Roosevelt Road
  • 308 Medical Center
  • 310 Madison Street-Hillside
  • 317 Westchester
  • 318 West North Avenue

References
  1. "Annual Ridership Report – Calendar Year 2022" (PDF). Chicago Transit Authority, Ridership Analysis and Reporting. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 10, 2023.
  2. "Search Results: Forest Park Transit Center - CTA". Pace Bus.
  3. Pierce, Victoria (2006-08-24). "Pedestrian bridge to fun and profit". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2006-08-24.
  4. Wronski, Richard (November 23, 2012). "Pace says its buses will run on some routes being cut by CTA". Chicago Tribune.
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