Map of union station chicago4/25/2024 ![]() ![]() ![]() Both of these buildings were located close to the tracks to accommodate easy access to freight trains.Īll that remains today is the Headhouse building and one block of the historic train sheds. Then in 1932, air rights were sold over the southern tracks for the new Chicago Main Post Office. This was one of the earliest examples of a development which took advantage of air rights, a new type of legal vehicle. In 1929, CUSCo sold the air rights over the tracks and platforms for the construction of the Chicago Daily News building, a few blocks to the north of the Concourse building. Between the 1920s and 1960s, Union Station was truly a city within a city. The original Chicago Union Station terminal complex spanned a total of nine city blocks which consisted of a Headhouse building, occupying an entire city block between Canal and Clinton Streets the Concourse building, located to the east of the Headhouse and numerous glass, concrete, and steel train sheds. In May 1984, Amtrak purchased the remaining ownership shares of CUSCo, ending any Chicago ownership stake. This significant decrease left the remaining Chicago stations with limited train traffic. While Amtrak was rerouting all trains into Chicago Union Station, it began cutting its passenger rail network in half. Congress gave Amtrak the responsibility to reroute all passenger trains starting from and terminating at Chicago’s six grand stations, LaSalle, Dearborn/Polk, Grand Central, Chicago & North Western, and Illinois Central into Chicago Union Station. The National Railroad Passenger Corporation was formed by Congress in 1970 and began operations under the name Amtrak. The ridership peaked at 270,000 a decade later. Carl Condit, renowned Chicago historian of urban and architectural history, stated that every day 1,300 trains carrying 175,000 passengers were passing through Chicago’s grand terminals in 1910. Following the opening of Union Station, the Union Depot was later demolished. Construction was completed in 1881 and supported increasing levels of ridership. In 1874, five of Chicago’s railroads agreed to build a “Union Depot” at Adams and Canal Street, immediately north of present-day Union Station. Chicago became a major transportation hub and the crossroads of the nation. Two decades later, Chicago’s population exploded to over two million in 1910. In 1890 Chicago’s population was around 500,000. “Union Station is considered to be one of the most historically significant passenger railroad stations in the nation for its planning and grand architectural design”, according to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in the 2000 Landmark Designation Report.Ĭhicago grew from a small town to a major city in the second half of the 19th century and railroads played an integral role in this rapid growth. In addition, its design became an ideal setting for large functions and the grand staircase featured prominently in the 1987 film The Untouchables and other movies. It has been featured in many prominent architecture books and scholarly periodicals. The dramatic train station of magnificent proportions proved a source of civic pride. After twelve years of planning and construction, the Beaux-Arts style Chicago Union Station was widely celebrated when it opened in May of 1925, with its magnificent Great Hall/Waiting Room and massive Corinthian-order travertine columns. Unfortunately, Burnham died before construction began on the station and Burnham’s successor firm, Graham, Burnham & Company, later known as Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White, took over the design. ![]() In 1913, five railroads formed the Chicago Union Station Company (CUSCo) to build a new central rail terminal called Union Station. ![]() After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicago experienced a building boom and Burnham proposed the consolidation of train stations to increase operating efficiencies and free up acres of land for new development. Celebrated Chicago architect Daniel Burnham envisioned a conceptual design for Union Station in his 1909 Plan of Chicago. Union Station is Chicago’s finest and last connection to an era and an industry that played a major role in Chicago’s growth and history. Style: Classical Revival (Exterior) Beaux Arts (Interior) PDF Download: Preservation Chicago’s 2018 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Booklet ![]()
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