Springfield Union Station in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, is a former train station and now part of the complex of buildings that together form the

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum documents the life of the 16th U.S. president, Abraham Lincoln, and the course of the American Civil War. Combining traditional scholarship with 21st-century showmanship techniques, the museum ...

. It is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

, and is located at 500 East Madison Street (5th & Madison) in downtown Springfield, adjacent to the Lincoln Presidential Library.

History

Springfield Union Station was designed in the

Richardson Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revival style incorporates 11th and 12th century southern French, Spanish, and Italian Romanesque ...

style in 1896 as a combined passenger terminal for several railroads serving Springfield, including the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad,

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama. A line also co ...

, and the St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway. Although the structure was intended to be used jointly by these railroads, the Illinois Central was the predominant carrier, and the architect was Illinois Central chief architect Francis T. Bacon. The station was built in 1897–1898 at a cost of $75,000, and opened for business on January 2, 1898.Julie Cellini, "Rebirth of a Landmark", (Springfield, Ill.) ''State Journal-Register'', February 9, 2007, page 6A. During its 73 years of active service, the station carried substantial passenger train traffic to and from

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and other cities. The vast majority of passenger trains serving Springfield Union Station were operated by the Illinois Central Railroad, although when the station was first opened, Illinois Central only served Springfield on a route extending northeast to

Clinton Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has frequently been used as a given ...

, Gilman and Chicago. In 1899, Illinois Central acquired the Springfield to St. Louis segment of the former St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway, allowing expansion of Illinois Central service from Springfield south to St. Louis. On June 17, 1900, two premier trains (the ''Daylight Special'' and the ''Diamond Special'') were inaugurated on this route to compete with existing St. Louis–Springfield–Chicago service offered by the

Chicago and Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

. By 1936, the Illinois Central name trains serving Springfield on the same route were the ''

Green Diamond The ''Green Diamond'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. It operated from 1936 until 1968. It was the Illinois Central's first streamliner. Initially it o ...

'' and the ''Night Diamond.'' Baltimore and Ohio passenger service through Springfield was secondary in nature, with service over one line from

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

and Decatur to Springfield, and over a second route between

Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

, Pana, Springfield and Beardstown. The B&O had been one of the original tenants in Springfield Union Station, but after purchasing the

Alton Railroad The Alton Railroad was the final name of a railroad linking Chicago to Alton, Illinois; St. Louis, Missouri; and Kansas City, Missouri. Its predecessor, the Chicago and Alton Railroad , was purchased by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1931 an ...

in 1931, B&O trains were shifted from Union Station to the former Chicago and Alton station. The Indianapolis service was discontinued west of Decatur during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, leaving only a single motorcar train serving Springfield on the Flora to Beardstown line. Following the sale of the Alton Railroad to the

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illinois. From its two pa ...

in 1947, the B&O motorcar train briefly returned to Springfield Union Station before being discontinued on March 24, 1951. Springfield IC-diamond woodwork

The Chicago, Peoria and St. Louis Railroad, another tenant in Union Station, provided passenger service from Springfield to Peoria and from Springfield to St. Louis via Waverly and

Alton Alton may refer to: People *Alton (given name) *Alton (surname) Places Australia *Alton National Park, Queensland * Alton, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Balonne Canada * Alton, Ontario *Alton, Nova Scotia New Zealand * Alton, New Zealand, ...

. After evolving into the

Chicago and Illinois Midland Railroad The Illinois and Midland Railroad is a railroad in the U.S. state of Illinois, serving Peoria, Springfield and Taylorville. Until 1996, when Genesee & Wyoming Inc. bought it, the company was named the Chicago and Illinois Midland Railway . I ...

, the company constructed a new passenger depot near the north end of their Springfield yard, almost two miles north of Union Station. Completion of this smaller station allowed C&IM to withdraw their remaining passenger operations from Springfield Union Station in 1937. Springfield Union Station is one of five significant rail terminals which served Illinois' capital city, and it was constructed in a far more ornate architectural style than the more utilitarian design of the other stations (

Gulf, Mobile and Ohio The Gulf, Mobile and Ohio was a Class I railroad in the central United States whose primary routes extended from Mobile, Alabama, and New Orleans, Louisiana, to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, as well as Chicago, Illinois. From its two ...

, Great Western, Wabash, and

Illinois Terminal The Illinois Terminal is an intermodal passenger transport center located at 45 East University Avenue in Champaign, Illinois, United States. The facility opened in January 1999 and provides Amtrak train service and various bus services to the C ...

.) The station was operated as a stub-end terminal by Illinois Central, and passenger trains backed into the station using now removed trackage which extended east along Madison Street to the Illinois Central mainline. This awkward operating arrangement reflected the original Illinois Central configuration with Springfield as an endpoint terminal rather than an intermediate station along a route. One of the more prominent features of Springfield Union Station was a three-story (110 ft; 33m) clock tower. The tower made a striking addition to the Springfield skyline, helping the station become an immediately recognizable landmark. The hands on the clock faces were removed in 1936 as an economy move to avoid maintenance of the clock mechanism, and the tower was removed down to its base during the summer of 1946. Passenger train service to and from Springfield Union Station ended on April 30, 1971, when the ''Governor's Special,'' the last Illinois Central passenger train between Springfield and Chicago, was discontinued as a result of the creation of Amtrak. The train was a shortened version of the Illinois Central's ''Green Diamond,'' for most of the 1960s, the only train serving the station. Amtrak passenger trains continue to serve Springfield from the former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio station, located about three blocks west of Union Station.

Redevelopment

After passenger train service ended, Union Station housed several private businesses before being used for Illinois state offices until September, 2004. The building was extensively restored as the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library visitor center, which reopened in March 2007. As part of the $12.5 million restoration project, the clock tower was rebuilt, substantially returning the station to its pre-1936 appearance.John Reynolds, "All aboard: Union Station opens as visitors' center", (Springfield, Ill.) ''State Journal-Register'', March 20, 2007, page 9. Although the visitor center function was later discontinued, the station continues as an integral part of the ticket-access Lincoln Presidential Library, housing exhibits and audiovisual presentations about Lincoln's life. An admission fee is charged.

Gallery

File:Springfield Union Station 0454w.jpg, New clock tower constructed in 2006 to replicate tower removed in 1946 from Springfield Union Station File:Springfield Union Station waiting room 2007.jpg, Interior of former Springfield Union Station as renovated for use as Lincoln Presidential Library Visitor Center

Notes

References

* * * * Engineering News and American Railway Journal, March 1, 1900, pages 151-152. {{authority control

Union Station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

Clock towers in Illinois Former railway stations in Illinois

National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Illinois Railroad museums in Illinois Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1898 Former Baltimore and Ohio Railroad stations Former Illinois Central Railroad stations Towers in Illinois Union stations in the United States Visitor centers in the United States