is a
Chicago Train Station that opened in
1925 , replacing an earlier
1881 station, and is now the only
Intercity Rail terminal in Chicago. Union Station was built on the west side of the
Chicago River and stands between
Adams Street and
Jackson Street . It is, including approach and storage tracks, about nine and a half
City Block s in size, and almost entirely beneath streets and skyscrapers. The
Chicago Union Station Company , now a subsidiary of
Amtrak , owns the station.
On
April 7 ,
1874 the
Pennsylvania Company (the owner of the
Pennsylvania Railroad 's "Lines West" territory),
Chicago, Burlington And Quincy Railroad ,
Michigan Central Railroad ,
Chicago And Alton Railroad and
Chicago, Milwaukee And St. Paul Railway signed an agreement to build a
Union Station on land owned by the Pennsylvania Company's
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne And Chicago Railway between
Van Buren Street and
Madison Street on the west side of the
Chicago River .
The Michigan Central, which used the
Illinois Central Railroad 's
Illinois Central Depot , would have switched to the
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne And Chicago Railway at
Tolleston, Indiana . However, it quickly decided to keep using the Illinois Central Depot. The
Chicago And North Western Railway also considered switching to the new station from its
Wells Street Station , but instead built the
Chicago And North Western Passenger Terminal in
1911 . The other four companies went on to use the station when it opened in
1881 .
The second Union Station was built by the
Chicago Union Station Company , owned by all the companies that used the first station but the Chicago and Alton (which used the new one anyway). The architect was
Daniel Burnham of Chicago, who died before its completion. The firm of
Graham, Anderson, Probst And White completed the work to Burnham's designs. Work began in
1913 and the station opened on
May 16 ,
1925 , though some construction on
Viaduct s carrying streets over the approach tracks went on into
1927 . Construction was delayed by
World War I , labor shortages and
Strikes . It is one of about a dozen monumental Beaux-Arts railroad stations that were among the most complicated architectural programs of the era called the "
American Renaissance ", combining traditional
Architecture with
Engineering technology, circulation patterning and
Urban Planning .
and
Amtrak 's consolidation of downtown terminals, Union Station was already served by lines in all directions.]]
Upon its completion, Union Station was hailed as an outstanding achievement in railroad facility planning. Today, the monumental
Neoclassical station is the last remaining railroad terminal still used by
Intercity Train s in Chicago. The station's ornate
Beaux-Arts main waiting room, the "Great Hall", is one of the United States' great interior public spaces with its
Vaulted skylight, statuary, and connecting lobbies, staircases, and balconies. The Great Hall is over 34 meters high. Enormous wooden benches are arranged in the room for travellers to wait for connections.
During , approximately 126,000 people use the station on a daily basis, including 6,000 Amtrak passengers.
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Unlike other major American intercity/commuter rail hubs, such as 's El system does not stop at Union Station. This could change in the future as plans are being developed for the
Circle Line , a secondary mass-transit loop to encircle the downtown area. However, Chicago's highly centralized urban form means that most commuters can walk to their final destinations.
trains to Chicago (orange), as well as a good number of
Metra lines (green). Thin black lines represent former Amtrak routings.]]
Union Station served as a
Terminal for the following lines and intercity trains:
- Chicago And Alton Railroad - only a tenant, later part of the Gulf, Mobile And Ohio Railroad
- Chicago, Burlington And Quincy Railroad
- Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul And Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road)
- Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne And Chicago Railway ( PRR )
- Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago And St. Louis Railroad (Panhandle) (moved to use the PFW&C approach after April 23 , 1917 )
- New York Central Railroad and Michigan Central Railroad (moved from LaSalle Street Station October 27 , 1968 )
- Amtrak (began May 1 , 1971 , moved from Dearborn Station May 2 , 1971 and Central Station March 6 , 1972 ('' Floridian '' moved January 23 , 1972 )); Amtrak's '' Calumet '' and '' Indiana Connection '' Commuter Train s also ran into Union Station
Riders may easily connect to either
O'Hare International Airport ,
Mitchell International Airport (Milwaukee) , and
Midway International Airport , using nearby
CTA stations. For O'Hare, riders should walk to the any of the nearby Loop stations and ride to Clark & Lake for a connection to the
Blue Line , which operates 24 hours a day (alternately, the Blue Line's Dearborn Street stops are a few blocks away from several of Union Station's entrances). For Mitchell (Milwaukee), riders can take the Hiawatha Amtrak route which runs directly to the Milwaukee Airport 8 times a day. For Midway, riders should walk to the Quincy/Wells CTA station and ride the
Orange Line .
A pivotal scene in ''
The Untouchables '' was filmed on the stairs in the Grand Hall.
- Alton Limited
- Abraham Lincoln
- Ann Rutledge
- Midnight Special
- Twin Cities Hiawatha
- Midwest Hiawatha
- Pioneer Limited
- Olympian
- Columbian
- Olympian Hiawatha
- City of San Francisco
- City of Los Angeles
- City of Portland
- Challenger
- Admiral
- Broadway Limited
- Cincinnati Daylight Express
- The Fort Pitt
- Pennsylvania Limited
- Pennsylvanian
