Downtown Train Station Renovation (1978-1986)

Toward the end of the 1970s, the historically significant 1899 Frost and Granger railroad station in downtown Lake Forest was in such a state of disrepair that the RTA (now known as METRA) proposed to replace it with a more utilitarian structure. As its first major project, the Foundation, working with the City and the RTA, raised over $400,000 to renovate the building. In addition to selling tickets and sheltering passengers from the elements, the station is now home to the Chamber of Commerce, a bank, a barber, a shoe repair, a newstand and a cleaners. The Foundation continues its stewardship of the station with repeated platform plantings and annual holiday decorations.