Everett Street Station, also called Milwaukee Union Station, was a
railway station
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
located in downtown
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, built by the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), often referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The company experience ...
(CMStP&P), commonly known as the Milwaukee Road. The station was located on West Everett Street between North 2nd Street and North 4th Street, and it featured a 140-foot-high clock tower—the largest in America at the time of construction. Designed by
E. Townsend Mix
Edward Townsend Mix (May 13, 1831 – September 2, 1890) was an Americans, American architect of the Gilded Age who designed many buildings in the Midwestern United States. His career was centered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and many of his design ...
in a "modern" functional style, the station combined the
Gothic Revival
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
style with elements drawing on
Queen Anne and
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
styles (such as stone archways) in an eclectic blend. Walter G. Berg gave a detailed description of the building in ''Buildings and Structures of American Railroads'' (1893).
The station faced the Fourth Ward Park (since renamed
Zeidler Park), which afforded both a vantage point for viewing the station and a bucolic respite from the mechanized industrial culture of the railroad. The station served passengers from its opening in 1886 until it was replaced by Union Station (now
Milwaukee Intermodal Station
Milwaukee Intermodal Station is the main intercity bus and train station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, located downtown. The station is served by Amtrak's ''Empire Builder'' and ''Hiawatha Service'' as well as bus companies Coach USA - Wisconsin Coac ...
) on August 4, 1965. The station was damaged by fire a week after closing and razed the following year.
Services
The Everett Street Station served as the home station of the Milwaukee Road, also serving the Wisconsin Central and Milwaukee Northern Railroads. The station was also home to the Milwaukee Road's ''
Hiawatha
Hiawatha ( , also : ), also known as Ayenwathaaa or Aiionwatha, was a precolonial Native American leader and co-founder of the Iroquois Confederacy. He was a leader of the Onondaga people, the Mohawk people, or both. According to some account ...
'' passenger trains.
Clock Tower
After the clock tower had been lowered in the 1950s, the clock from the removed upper portion was installed to just above the roofline. Before demolition, one of the clock faces was removed and put into storage. It is now part of the
Betty Brinn Children's Museum
The Betty Brinn Children's Museum is a non-profit children's museum located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
About the Museum
The museum is a "hands-on" exhibit based educational museum primarily targeted for children between the ages of 1 and 10. It inc ...
building, located at 929 E. Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee, which is very close to the site of the Chicago and North Western's razed
Lakefront Depot.
References
{{coord, 43, 02, 11, N, 87, 54, 52, W, type:landmark_region:US-WI, display=title
Buildings and structures in Milwaukee
Demolished railway stations in the United States
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1886
Railway stations closed in 1965
Former railway stations in Wisconsin