It was built using the tracks of the former Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad's high-speed Skokie Valley Route.

At this point, the route passes the Skokie Shops CTA maintenance facility and crosses over the North Shore Channel.

[8] Howard The Yellow Line originally began as the Niles Center Branch of the old Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT).

The rapid transit service began as part of the Chicago, North Shore, and Milwaukee Railroad's high-speed Skokie Valley interurban line on a five-mile (8 km) section between Howard Terminal and Dempster Street, Niles Center.

[9] The route included several intermediate stops through Evanston and Skokie (then called Niles Center) at Ridge, Asbury, Dodge, Crawford/East Prairie, Kostner, Oakton and Main.

Some of the vacant station houses were used by other businesses, including a convenience store and an electrical supplier, before finally being demolished in the 1980s.

[10] Participation in the net project costs was divided between the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, CTA and the Village of Skokie.

At the end of the two-year experimental period, 3.5 million people had used the new service and CTA authorized operation of the Skokie Swift as a permanent part of its rapid transit system.

The success of the Skokie Swift route demonstrated that many motorists will forsake their cars when high-speed mass transit is provided and to a minor extent, gave birth to the first use of light rail before the term was ever coined.

Trains switched non-stop from third rail to overhead and vice versa using distinctive pan trolleys designed by Skokie Swift Project Manager George Krambles.

[4] In 2003, the old brick station building (designed by architect Arthur U. Gerber) was moved 150 feet (46 m) to the east, then was restored and converted into commercial property.

Third-rail electrification was installed in 2004 to increase reliability, allow compatibility with other rapid-transit lines and reduce maintenance costs.

[12] A groundbreaking ceremony marking the start of construction of a new intermediate stop on the Yellow Line, Oakton–Skokie, took place on June 21, 2010.

[22] In 2012, a local study found Asbury to be the most feasible of the three potential southern Evanston Yellow Line stations.