 Harlem station opened on February 27, 1983 as part of the 7.9-mile extension of the West-Northwest Route from Jefferson Park to .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.