Chicago Union Station is an

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

and

commuter rail Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

located in the Near West Side neighborhood of

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

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The station is

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

's flagship station in the Midwest. While serving long-distance passenger trains, it is also the downtown terminus for six

Metra Metra is the commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 242 stations on 11 rail lines. ...

commuter lines. The station is just west of the

Chicago River The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of that runs through the city of Chicago, including its center (the Chicago Loop). Though not especially long, the river is notable because it is one of the reasons for ...

between West Adams Street and West Jackson Boulevard, adjacent to the

Chicago Loop The Loop, one of Chicago's 77 designated community areas, is the central business district of the city and is the main section of Downtown Chicago. Home to Chicago's commercial core, it is the second largest commercial business district in Nort ...

. Including approach and storage tracks, it covers about nine and a half city blocks (mostly underground, buried beneath streets and skyscrapers). The present Chicago Union Station opened in 1925, replacing an earlier station on this site built in 1881. The station is the fourth-busiest rail station in the United States, after

Pennsylvania Station Pennsylvania Station (often abbreviated Penn Station) is a name applied by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) to several of its grand passenger terminals. Several are still in active use by Amtrak and other transportation services; others have been ...

, Grand Central Terminal, and

Jamaica station Jamaica station is a major train station of the Long Island Rail Road located in Jamaica, Queens, New York City. With weekday ridership exceeding 200,000 passengers, it is the largest transit hub on Long Island, the fourth-busiest rail station ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It is Amtrak's overall fourth-busiest station, and 120,000 daily Metra riders and the busiest outside of its Northeast Corridor. It handles about 140,000 passengers on an average weekday (including 10,000 Amtrak passengers) and is one of Chicago's most iconic structures, reflecting the city's strong architectural heritage and historic achievements. It has Bedford limestone Beaux-Arts facades, massive Corinthian columns, marble floors, and a Great Hall, all highlighted by brass lamps. Chicago Union Station provides direct connections to multiple transit authorities including the

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

bus and

Chicago L (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

lines,

Pace Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

, and more within the station or within walking distance.

Name

Chicago Union Station is named a

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 ...

, like many train stations across the United States that were shared by several railroad companies. The station is the third union station to occupy the site between West Adams Street and West Jackson Boulevard. The station is known by the acronym CUS, as well as by its Amtrak station code CHI.

Location

Chicago Union Station is situated in the

West Loop Gate The Near West Side, one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, is on the West Side, west of the Chicago River and adjacent to the Loop. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 started on the Near West Side. Waves of immigration shaped the history of th ...

neighborhood of the Near West Side of Chicago, just west of Chicago's

Loop Loop or LOOP may refer to: Brands and enterprises * Loop (mobile), a Bulgarian virtual network operator and co-founder of Loop Live * Loop, clothing, a company founded by Carlos Vasquez in the 1990s and worn by Digable Planets * Loop Mobile, an ...

. The station's underground concourse and train sheds abut the

; passageways extend west beneath Canal Street to the main station building, one block over.

Services

Amtrak

*''

Blue Water Maritime geography is a collection of terms used by naval military units to loosely define three maritime regions: brown water, green water, and blue water. Definitions The elements of maritime geography are loosely defined and their meanings hav ...

'' (Chicago – Port Huron, Michigan) *''

California Zephyr The ''California Zephyr'' is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area (at Emeryville), via Omaha, Denver, Salt Lake City, and Reno. At , it is Amtrak's longest daily route, and second-longest overall ...

'' (Chicago – Emeryville) *''

Capitol Limited The ''Capitol Limited'' is a daily Amtrak train between Washington, D.C., and Chicago, running via Pittsburgh and Cleveland. Service began in 1981 and was named after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's ''Capitol Limited'' which ended in 197 ...

'' (Chicago – Washington DC) *'' Cardinal'' (Chicago – New York) *''

City of New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Empire Builder The ''Empire Builder'' is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northe ...

'' (Chicago – Portland/Seattle) *''

Hiawatha Service The ''Hiawatha Service'', or simply ''Hiawatha'', is an 86-mile (138 km) train route operated by Amtrak on the western shore of Lake Michigan between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. However, the name was historically applied to ...

'' (Chicago – Milwaukee) * ''Illini'' and ''Saluki'' (Chicago – Carbondale, Illinois) * ''Illinois Zephyr'' and ''Carl Sandburg'' (Chicago – Quincy) *''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two sections east of Albany. The train began service in 1975; its predecessor was Amtrak's Chicago– ...

'' (Chicago – New York/Boston) *''

Lincoln Service The ''Lincoln Service'' is a higher-speed rail service operated by Amtrak that runs between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri. The train is a part of the '' Illinois Service'' and is partially funded by the Illinois Department of Tra ...

'' (Chicago – St. Louis) *'' Pere Marquette'' (Chicago – Grand Rapids) *''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flagsta ...

'' (Chicago – Los Angeles) *''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

'' (Chicago – San Antonio/Los Angeles) *''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

'' (Chicago – Pontiac)

Metra

BNSF Line The BNSF Line (also known informally as the "Racetrack") is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership (average 64,600) of t ...

Heritage Corridor The Heritage Corridor (HC) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its southwestern suburbs, terminating in Joliet, Illinois. While Metra does not refer to its lines by colors, the Heritage Corridor appears on Metra timetables as ...

Milwaukee District North Line The Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its northern suburbs. Although Metra does not refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District North line are pal ...

Milwaukee District West Line The Milwaukee District West Line (MD-W) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. Metra does not refer to any of its lines by a particular color, but the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District West line a ...

North Central Service The North Central Service (NCS) is a Metra commuter rail line running from Union Station in downtown Chicago through northwestern and far northern suburbs to Antioch, Illinois. In June 2018, the public timetable shows 10 weekday departures from ...

SouthWest Service The Southwest Service (SWS) is a Metra commuter rail line, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the SouthWest Service ...

Connections

Local rail service

Unlike many major American intercity and commuter rail hubs, Union Station does not have any direct connection to local

rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...

service. However, two Chicago "L" stations are within walking distance of Union Station. * (two blocks south of the station): * (three blocks east of the station, on The Loop): , , , and Metra's other three downtown terminals – the

Ogilvie Transportation Center The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (; formerly Chicago and North Western Terminal) is a commuter rail terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the terminus for the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District to Chica ...

LaSalle Street Station LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago, ...

and

Millennium Station Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Terminal; sometimes called Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a major commuter rail terminal in the Loop (downtown), Chicago. It is the northern terminus of the Metra E ...

– are all within walking distance of Union Station. Passengers connecting from Ogilvie can access Union Station's north platforms on the opposite side of Madison Street.

Bus service

Union Station Transit Center, December 2018

Numerous

CTA bus routes This is a list of bus routes operated by the Chicago Transit Authority. Routes running 24/7 are: * The N4 (between 63rd/Cottage Grove and Washington/State only), * N9 (between () and North/Clark only), * N20 (between Washington/State and Austin ...

stop directly at Union Station: * Union Station Transit Center: 1, 28, 121, 124, 128, 151, 156 * West side of Clinton, north side of block: 125, 130, 192 * West side of Clinton, south side of block: 7, 60, 157 * Southwest corner of Clinton/Jackson: 126, 754, 755 (

) Union Station Transit Center is located adjacent to Union Station's parking garage. The bus station opened in 2016, on land formerly used for a surface parking lot. It features an elevator and stairway to the Amtrak underground pedestrian tunnel, allowing commuters to pass between Union Station and the bus staging area without crossing at street level. Union Station has a counter operated by the

intercity bus company. Tickets are available for purchase, and some Greyhound and

Megabus Megabus may refer to: *Megabus (Europe), a low-cost coach service with services in Europe owned by ComfortDelGro. *Megabus (North America) Megabus, branded as megabus.com, is an intercity bus service of Coach USA/ Coach Canada operating in the ...

buses pick up passengers on South Canal Street, on the east side of the station building. The full-service Greyhound station is four blocks southwest of Union Station.

Historical services

Union Station was served by lines in all directions even before

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

and

consolidated the downtown terminals. The station served as a terminal for the following railroads: *

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 a ...

– only a tenant, later part of 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 ...

* Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) *

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 ...

(Milwaukee Road) – The station housed its corporate offices from 1924 to 1986 *

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern-own ...

( PRR) *

Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Pan Handle Route (Panhandle Route in later days), was a railroad that was part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system. Its common name came from its main line, whic ...

(Panhandle) (moved to use the PFW&C approach after April 23, 1917) *

Penn Central Transportation Company The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

(former services of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

and Michigan Central Railroad) (moved from

October 27, 1968) *

(began May 1, 1971, moved from

Dearborn Station Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at ...

May 2, 1971 and

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

March 6, 1972 ('' Floridian'' moved January 23, 1972); Amtrak's ''

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

'' and '' Indiana Connection''

commuter train Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are cons ...

s also ran into Union Station) Some of these trains and their names have survived to present Amtrak services, such as the ''

'', the ''

'', and the ''

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 ...

''. The name ''

Ann Rutledge Ann Mayes Rutledge (January 7, 1813 – August 25, 1835) was allegedly Abraham Lincoln's first love. Early life Born near Henderson, Kentucky, Ann Mayes Rutledge was the third of 10 children born to Mary Ann Miller Rutledge and James Rutledge ...

'' was used by Amtrak as a Chicago-St. Louis-Kansas City route until a name and service consolidation in 2009. There is also a ''

'' that operates in Illinois.

Interior

Station building

Located west of Canal Street, Union Station's station building occupies an entire city block. At its center is the Great Hall, the main waiting room. Arrayed around the Great Hall are numerous smaller spaces containing restaurants and services, and a wide passageway leading to the concourse. Above the main floor are several floors of office space, currently used by Amtrak. Original plans called for many more floors of offices, forming a skyscraper above the Great Hall. This was never completed, although the plan has been revived in recent years. The Burlington Room is an event space at the northwest of the Great Hall. The room features large columns, chandeliers, four French block murals of landscape scenery, and an original mirror. The space, initially a women's lounge, was restored in November 2016, after years of damage and neglect. For event uses, the space has color-changing lights and an audiovisual system. The headhouse includes a space formerly used as a Fred Harvey restaurant. After a large fire in 1980, the space was damaged, windows on Clinton Street were destroyed, and the space was left vacant since then. In 2018, Amtrak announced plans to redevelop the space into a multi-level food hall, using funds from the sale of its parking garage. A new entrance and canopy would be installed on Clinton Street, and new windows would replace the bricked-up windows. The food hall is planned to open in the summer of 2020. The headhouse also includes a Metropolitan Lounge, one of seven Amtrak offers in its stations. The lounge operates like an

airport lounge An airport lounge is a facility operated at many airports. Airport lounges offer, for selected passengers, comforts beyond those afforded in the airport terminal itself, such as more comfortable seating, quieter environments, and often better acce ...

, accessible to business- and first-class passengers, as well as other high-price ticketed passengers. The lounge reopened in June 2016, moving from the concourse to the headhouse. It has two stories and , double the space of the previous lounge. It features different seating areas intended for businesspeople, families and children, and people using phones or tablets. The space has bathrooms with showers, and an elevator.

Platforms and tracks

Union Station is laid out with a double stub-end configuration, with 10 tracks coming into the station from the north and 14 from the south. Unlike most of Amtrak's major stations, every train calling at Union Station either originates or terminates there; all passengers traveling through Chicago must change trains to reach their final destination. There are two through tracks to allow out-of-service equipment moves between the north and south side, including one with a platform to allow extra long trains to board. Between the north and south sides of the station is a passenger concourse. Passengers can walk through the concourse to get from any platform to any other without stairs or elevators. Odd-numbered platforms (1–19) are on the north half of the station, and even-numbered platforms (2–30) on the south half. The north tracks are used by Amtrak for the ''

'' and the ''

'', and by

for the Milwaukee District West,

Milwaukee District North The Milwaukee District North Line (MD-N) is a Metra commuter rail line in Chicago, Illinois, and its northern suburbs. Although Metra does not refer to any of its lines by color, the timetable accents for the Milwaukee District North line are pal ...

, and

routes. The south tracks are used for all other Amtrak services, as well as by Metra for the

BNSF BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that ...

and

s. Two station management structures (known as glasshouses), one on each side of the terminal, monitor train-to-track assignments and the flow of traffic in and out of the station. Actual oversight and control of switching and signalling is accomplished by two "train director" positions, one for each side of the station, located in the Amtrak control center in the station's headhouse. Numerous entrances provide access to Union Station's underground platform level. The main entrance is on Canal Street opposite the headhouse, but passengers can also reach the platforms directly from the headhouse via an underground passageway. Two secondary entrances are located in Riverside Plaza near the Jackson Boulevard and Adams Street bridges. On Madison Street, across the street, and one block east from

, are a set of entrances to the north platforms.

Architecture

Night and Day Statues, Union Station Chicago

Union Station was designed by D. H. Burnham & Company (known for its lead architect

Daniel Burnham Daniel Hudson Burnham (September 4, 1846 – June 1, 1912) was an American architect and urban designer. A proponent of the '' Beaux-Arts'' movement, he may have been, "the most successful power broker the American architectural profession has ...

, who died before construction began). The successor firm of

Graham, Anderson, Probst and White Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (GAP&W) was a Chicago architectural firm that was founded in 1912 as Graham, Burnham & Co. This firm was the successor to D. H. Burnham & Co. through Daniel Burnham's surviving partner, Ernest R. Graham, and Burnh ...

completed the work. The terminal was among the first to anticipate automobile traffic; it was first designed in 1909, one year after the

Model T The Ford Model T is an automobile that was produced by Ford Motor Company from October 1, 1908, to May 26, 1927. It is generally regarded as the first affordable automobile, which made car travel available to middle-class Americans. The relati ...

entered production. It was designed with ticket offices, concourses, platforms, waiting and baggage rooms, and shops, all on a single level, meant to be easy to navigate. At opening, the terminal also housed a hospital, chapel, and jail cell. The main building, a square Neoclassical structure, takes up one city block. Its architectural style contrasts with modern glass-faced buildings around it. The station has wide porticos and large colonnades on its exterior. The street-level entrances utilize

Indiana limestone Indiana limestone — also known as Bedford limestone in the building trade — has long been an economically important building material, particularly for monumental public structures. Indiana limestone is a more common term for Salem Limestone, ...

. The station featured a large concourse along the river, made with marble, glass, and iron. Massive steel arches held up the roof, and several stairways led passengers down to the platforms.

Great Hall

At the building's center is the Great Hall, a -high atrium capped by a large barrel-vaulted skylight. The room has connecting lobbies, staircases, and balconies. Enormous wooden benches are arranged in the room for travelers to wait for connections, and two specially-designed underground taxicab drives were built to protect travelers from the weather. The room's columns are of textured Roman travertine marble, with leafy golden Corinthian capitals. The ceilings and insets are coffered, with decorative rosettes. Two statues by

Henry Hering Henry Hering (February 15, 1874 – January 15, 1949) was an American sculptor. Early career He was a student of Augustus Saint-Gaudens at Cooper Union and of Philip Martiny at the Art Students League of New York. He then went to Paris wher ...

—''Night'' and ''Day'' — look down on passengers, symbolizing the 24-hour operation of the railroads. The statue ''Night'' holds an owl, while ''Day'' holds a rooster.

Related structures

Power station

The Chicago Union Station Power House is a decommissioned coal-fire power plant that provided power to Union Station and its surrounding infrastructure.Matthew, Hendrickson.
Iconic South Loop power station, facing wrecking ball, should be saved instead, preservationists say
,

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

. October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.Koziarz, Jay.
Preservationists push to save and repurpose iconic Union Station power house
, '' Curbed''. October 11, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.Chicago Union Station Power House
,

Preservation Chicago Preservation Chicago is a historic preservation advocacy group in Chicago, Illinois, which formally commenced operations on October 23, 2001.

. Retrieved October 17, 2019. Located on the Chicago River, north of Roosevelt Road, it was designed in the

Art Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design ...

style by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White in 1931. The power plant was decommissioned in 2011. It was included in

Preservation Chicago Preservation Chicago is a historic preservation advocacy group in Chicago, Illinois, which formally commenced operations on October 23, 2001.

's 7 Most Endangered list in 2017 and 2020, as Amtrak has plans to demolish the building.

Post office

The same architecture firm that designed Union Station also designed the

Old Chicago Main Post Office The Old Chicago Main Post Office is a nine-story-tall building in downtown Chicago. The original building was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and built in 1921, but the structure was expanded greatly in 1932 in order to serve Chi ...

, a post office atop the station's southern tracks. The post office, opened four years before Union Station, utilized the rail system, funneling mail to and from the trains below. An expansion in 1932 made the structure the world's largest post office.

Construction over the station's train shed

The large amount of land above the tracks and platforms has tempted property owners and developers. Possibly inspired by Terminal City, a development built atop New York's Grand Central Terminal's train shed, Chicago moved to develop the

air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...

above Union Station's tracks. The first building to be built was that of the ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Doughert ...

'' in 1929. Designed in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

style, it was the first structure to add a public promenade along the river, which would be named

Riverside Plaza Riverside Plaza is a modernist and brutalist apartment complex designed by Ralph Rapson that opened in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1973. Situated on the edge of downtown Minneapolis in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, and next to both the Univers ...

. Soon after, in 1932, the new Chicago Main Post Office opened. Also in the Art Deco style, it is a gigantic structure that occupies two full city blocks. The Great Depression and subsequent

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 opposing ...

halted development, but in the 1960s, work began on Gateway Center, a

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

complex of five buildings. Only the first four were built, and construction lasted into the 1980s through several economic cycles. In 1990 the

Morton International Building The Boeing Building (formerly known as the Boeing International Headquarters and previously to that as the Morton-Thiokol International Building) is a 36-floor skyscraper located in the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. The buil ...

opened. Now named for

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

, it is the tallest building yet to be constructed over the tracks. With the construction of

River Point River Point, previously known as 200 North Riverside Plaza, is a 52-story 730 ft. (213 m) tall skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois, located at 444 West Lake Street. The 52-story building has of floor space. It sits on air rights above act ...

beginning in 2013 and 150 North Riverside beginning in 2014, the entire length of the train shed and tracks from Union Station north to Fulton Street and south to Polk Street is enclosed by overhead development. Chicago Union Station's train shed, covered by buildings built above the tracks, helped lead locomotives to funnel significant soot and smoke in and around the station. This was unlike Grand Central Terminal, which has only allowed electric trains into its trainshed since opening.

History

The current Union Station is the second by that name built in Chicago, and possibly the third rail station to occupy the site. The need for a single, centralized station was an important political topic in 19th and 20th-century Chicago, as various competing railroads had built a series of terminal stations. The numerous stations and associated railyards and tracks surrounded the city's central business district, the

, and threatened its expansion. The various stations also made travel difficult for through-travelers, many of whom had to make inconvenient transfers often slowed by street traffic from one station to another through the Loop. Union Station was part of architect

's city-wide

Plan of Chicago The Burnham Plan is a popular name for the 1909 ''Plan of Chicago'', co-authored by Daniel Burnham and Edward H. Bennett and published in 1909. It recommended an integrated series of projects including new and widened streets, parks, new railr ...

in 1909.

Predecessors

Union Station, Canal and Adams Street (NBY 8451)

On December 25, 1858, the

Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad The Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway was a major part of the Pennsylvania Railroad system, extending the PRR west from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via Fort Wayne, Indiana, to Chicago, Illinois. It included the current Norfolk Southern Rai ...

opened as far as Van Buren Street in Chicago. It built the first station at what would eventually become today's Union Station on the west bank of the

. The railroad built a permanent depot at the corner of Canal and Madison streets in 1861. On April 7, 1874 five railroads agreed to build and share a

just north of the original Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne, and Chicago Railroad station site at Van Buren Street. These railroads were: * Pennsylvania Company (a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad) * Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) * Michigan Central Railroad *

* Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (The Milwaukee Road) The Michigan Central, which had previously been using the

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 c ...

Great Central Station Great Central Station, also known as Great Central Depot, was an intercity train station in Chicago, Illinois, owned by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). It opened in 1856 and for a time was the largest building in downtown Chicago. Its passen ...

, soon decided to back out of the agreement, and continued to use the Illinois Central Depot. The

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

, not part of the original agreement, considered switching to the new station from its

Wells Street Station Wells Street Station was a passenger terminal of the Chicago and North Western Railway, located at the southwest corner of Wells Street and Kinzie Street in Chicago, Illinois. It was replaced in 1911 by the Chicago and North Western Terminal o ...

but deferred instead. In 1911 it built the

Chicago and North Western Passenger Terminal The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (; formerly Chicago and North Western Terminal) is a commuter rail terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It is the terminus for the three commuter rail lines of Metra's Union Pacific District to Chica ...

for its operations. The remaining four original companies used the station when it opened in 1881. The

headhouse A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, or the aboveground part of a subway station. Markets In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were often civic buildings such as town halls or courth ...

of the Union Depot, a narrow building, fronted onto Canal Street and stretched from Madison Street to Adams Street. Tracks led into the station from the south, and platforms occupied a strip of land between the back of the headhouse and the bank of the Chicago River. South of the station, Adams, Jackson, and Van Buren Streets rose over the tracks and the river on bridges. The station, along with its successor, was effectively two back-to-back stub-end terminals. Virtually all trains arriving would terminate there, and passengers traveling further would need to change trains.

Replacement

Growth in passenger traffic, as well as a civic push to consolidate numerous railroad terminals, led to a proposal for an enlarged Union Station on the same site. The second Union Station would be built by the

Chicago Union Station Company The Chicago Union Station Company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Amtrak that owned Chicago's Union Station, the largest intercity station in the Midwest, as well as the approach tracks. It was originally owned equally by four companies - the ...

. This was a new company formed by all the railroads that had used the first station, save for the Chicago and Alton, which became a tenant in the new station. The Pennsylvania Railroad, then the U.S.'s largest railroad company, planned and directed the project. The architectural firm was D. H. Burnham & Company (known for its lead architect

, who died before construction began). The successor firm of

completed the work. Work began on the massive project in 1913, and required purchasing adjacent properties and moving freight facilities. Construction stalled during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and resumed in 1919. The station finally opened on May 16, 1925, twelve years after construction began; some viaduct work continued into 1927. The construction cost, funded by the railroad companies involved, was projected to be $65 million, but ended up costing $75 million. Construction was delayed several times by World War I, labor shortages and strikes. The construction of the station also involved the demolition and relocation of some previously existing buildings such as the

Butler Brothers Warehouse Butler Square (originally the Butler Brothers Company building) is a former warehouse and office building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. The building is located within the North Loop, Minneapolis, Minneapolis warehouse district and was ...

along the Chicago River. 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 The American Renaissance was a period of American architecture and the arts from 1876 to 1917, characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance ...

", combining traditional architecture with engineering technology, circulation patterning and

urban planning Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...

. Union Station was hailed as an outstanding achievement in railroad facility planning at the time.

Wartime, decline, and resurgence

During

, Union Station was at its busiest, handling as many as 300 trains and 100,000 passengers daily, many of them soldiers. Illustrator

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

captured this era with his cover painting for a December 1944 issue of ''

The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...

'', depicting the station jammed with Christmas travelers. After the war, the growth of highway construction and private ownership of automobiles caused a severe decline in American passenger-rail ridership, including at Union Station. In 1969, the station's owner demolished the concourse building, making way for a modern office tower. A new and modernized, though less grand, concourse was constructed beneath the tower. In May 1971, the national railroad

was formed to take over long-distance passenger train service, while commuter trains remained privately operated. In 1980, the station's Fred Harvey restaurant experienced a large fire. The space was damaged, windows on Clinton Street were destroyed, and the space was left vacant since then. In 1984, Amtrak bought out the shares of Chicago Union Station Company held by

Burlington Northern The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroadin ...

(successor to the Burlington Route) and the Milwaukee Road, becoming sole owner of the station. In the 1990s,

Lucien Lagrange Associates Lucien Lagrange & Associates or Lucien Lagrange Architects is an architecture firm founded by Lucien Lagrange in 1985. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2010. The company is located at 605 North Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois, ...

made some patchwork renovations, including to the Great Hall and its skylight, which had been blacked-out since World War II. Restoration of Union Station continued. Numerous spaces within the station had yet to be renovated, and many sat unused, especially within the station building.

21st century

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Amtrak closed the pair of taxicab drives in the name of security. Passenger traffic has increased and is exceeding the design capacity of the 1991 renovation. On May 1, 2002, the station was designated a Chicago Landmark, protecting its exterior, rooflines, and public interior spaces from alterations. The status protects all exteriors, rooflines, the central lightwell, vehicular drives, the Great Hall, skylight, and select interior features – balconies, porticos, corridors, lobbies, and stairs. In 2010, Amtrak (the current owners of the Chicago Union Station Company) announced plans to air-condition the Great Hall for the first time since the 1960s. That year a ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television a ...

'' investigation revealed high levels of diesel soot on the underground platforms of Union Station.

established an "Emissions Task Force" to study this problem and recommend solutions to improve air quality in the underground areas. In 2011, its lighting system was replaced with more energy-efficient light bulbs and motion sensors, reducing the station's annual carbon emissions by 4 million tons. Custom steel lighting covers were added to top these safety/light towers, helping them blend in with the overall neoclassical style of the station. 20170324 02 Union Station

In 2011, the city held a public meeting to discuss goals for the station, aiming to accommodate the expected 40 percent growth in passengers by 2040. In the following year, city agencies joined together to publish a master plan for renovating and improving Union Station. Short-term goals were to improve station entrances and expand waiting rooms, as well as enhance bus lanes on Clinton and Canal Streets and create a bus terminal (completed in 2016). Goals for the next five to ten years included widening commuter platforms, using unutilized mail platforms (including an extra-long through platform) for intercity passenger trains, adding more through tracks and platforms, reorganizing facilities for better capacity and flow, increasing height clearances of the tracks, and improving street access to and from the station. Long-term, proposals include increasing capacity and improving the ambiance of the station by significantly expanding or replacing station facilities in the 200 or 300 blocks of South Canal Street. Adding track and platform capacity along Clinton Street or Canal Street was also analyzed. In June 2015, Amtrak announced that it would renovate the station, including opening up long-closed spaces and replacing the worn staircases with marble from the original quarry near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. In 2016, the women's lounge was restored, renamed the Burlington Room, and opened for use as an events space. The space was initially a women's lounge, and later became an Amtrak warehouse. It then suffered years of neglect and water damage, and was eventually closed off. In November 2016, the room was renovated and reopened. An architecture firm removed wooden decking that divided the space into two floors, and took out a drop ceiling that defaced the original ornate ceiling. The work restored the room's columns and chandeliers, including creating several replica chandeliers. The room also has four French block murals of landscape scenery; three of the four were cleaned and preserved, while the fourth was reproduced. An original mirror and banister were added to the room's north end. The space was improved for events with color-changing lights and an audiovisual system. In 2016, Amtrak held a competition for renovations and development of Union Station. The winner, Riverside Investment & Development Co., proposed multiple changes, including new retail, a food hall, and two 12-story towers. The plans followed an unrealized 2007 plan for a tower addition above Union Station. 20180825 02 Chicago Union Station

From 2018 to 2019, a $22 million restoration of the Great Hall, including restoring original detailing and rebuilding the large skylight, was completed, increasing natural light by 50 to 60 percent. The skylight, originally built in the 1920s, suffered from decades of harsh weather, leading to countless patchwork repairs, many of which blocked light from entering the Great Hall. The 2018–19 renovation restored the historic skylight to its original appearance, and added another glass skylight atop it. The new skylight is better-designed to prevent water and snow damage, and increases light entering the Great Hall. In 2018, Riverside Investment & Development Co. released a revised plan that included a seven-story addition above Union Station, adding 404 apartments to the building. The planned design was created by

Solomon Cordwell Buenz Solomon Cordwell Buenz (SCB) is an international architecture, interior design and planning firm based in Chicago, Illinois with offices in San Francisco, California, Boston, Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirat ...

, resembling Burnham's earlier proposed tower above the station, designed to handle the weight. The addition was to be clad in glass and light bronze, differentiated from the station's design as recommended in its landmark designation. The developers also planned to renovate the existing upper levels of Union Station's headhouse, adding 330 hotel rooms. The proposal was met with mixed reactions by preservationists and architectural critics, with

Blair Kamin Blair Kamin was the architecture critic of the ''Chicago Tribune'', for 28 years from 1992 to 2021. Kamin has held other jobs at the Tribune and previously worked for ''The Des Moines Register''. He also serves as a contributing editor of ''Archit ...

, the ''

''s critic, calling it "banal" and "top-heavy". Several months later, the developers announced they were cancelling the plan for the seven-story addition, instead constructing only a single additional penthouse floor, set back to not be visible from the street. The revised plan kept hotel rooms in the station's upper floors, and added a proposed 50-story office tower replacing the station's underutilized parking garage. In 2018, Amtrak announced plans to redevelop the former Fred Harvey restaurant space into a multi-level food hall, using funds from the sale of its parking garage. A new entrance and canopy would be installed on Clinton Street, and new windows would replace the bricked-up windows. The food hall is planned to open in the summer of 2020. In September 2019, Union Station's 700-car parking garage permanently closed in order to be demolished. Its replacement is to be a , , building named Union Station Tower, planned to open in 2022. The skyscraper will include a park above 400 parking spaces. The construction will not affect the

pedway Pedways (short for pedestrian walkways) are elevated or underground walkways, often connecting urban high-rises to each other, other buildings, or the street. They provide quick and comfortable movement from building to building, away from traff ...

from the terminal to its adjacent Union Station Transit Center. In March 2020, U.S. Representative for Illinois

Dan Lipinski Daniel William Lipinski (born July 15, 1966) is an American politician and political scientist who served eight terms as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 3rd congressional district from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Blue Dog Coalition, Lip ...

filed a bill to shift operational control of the terminal from Amtrak to Metra. Lipinski noted that Metra utilizes the station much more than Amtrak does, and operates its other large stations more effectively than Amtrak operates Union Station. Amtrak officials threatened to stop service to Union Station if the change is to be made, stating it would be impossible to operate and would serve as a blockade to regional and national Amtrak service. Congress was out of session during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, and aimed to discuss Lipinski's bill once sessions resumed.

In popular culture

Stairs leading out of main hall, Chicago Union Station

Union Station is used as a filming location in television and movies. Films in which the station appears include ''

The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...

'' (1973), '' Silver Streak'' (1976), ''

On the Right Track ''On the Right Track'' is a 1981 American romantic comedy film with the feature film debut of Gary Coleman.Blowen, Michael (21 April 1981)Review - Movie - Right Track, Wrong Direction - On the Right Track ''The Boston Globe'' ("On the Right Track ...

'' (1981), ''

Doctor Detroit ''Doctor Detroit'' is a 1983 American comedy film directed by Michael Pressman with writing by Bruce Jay Friedman, Carl Gottlieb, and Robert Boris. The film stars Dan Aykroyd, Howard Hesseman, Lynn Whitfield, Fran Drescher, and Donna Dixon, ...

'' (1983), ''

The Untouchables Untouchables or The Untouchables may refer to: American history * Untouchables (law enforcement), a 1930s American law enforcement unit led by Eliot Ness * ''The Untouchables'' (book), an autobiography by Eliot Ness and Oscar Fraley * ''The U ...

'' (1987), ''

My Best Friend's Wedding ''My Best Friend's Wedding'' is a 1997 American romantic comedy film directed by P.J. Hogan from a screenplay by Ronald Bass. The film stars Julia Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz, and Rupert Everett. The film received generally positiv ...

'' (1997), ''

Flags of Our Fathers ''Flags of Our Fathers'' (2000) is a book by James Bradley with Ron Powers about his father, Navy corpsman John Bradley, and five United States Marines, who were made famous by Joe Rosenthal’s '' Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima'' photograph. Th ...

'' (2006), '' Public Enemies'' (2009), and ''Man of Steel'' (2013). It was also featured in Season 4, Episode 8 of the TV series '' Fargo'' (2020), although it was depicted as ''

Kansas City Union Station Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot from 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of mo ...

.'' A 2016 exhibit in Union Station showcased the station and Chicago's use as a filming location in American cinema.

Amtrak ridership statistics

In 2019, Amtrak handled 3,379,760 arrivals and departures at the station. 3,161,204 of these were coach and business class tickets, and 218,556 were first class and sleeper class tickets. 2,365,259 trips were taken on state supported Amtrak services (Blue Water, Hiawawatha, Hoosier State, Illinois Zephyr/Carl Sandurg, Illini/Saluki, Lincoln Service, Pere Marquette, and Wolverine), and 1,007,508 trips were taken on long distance Amtrak services (California Zephyr, Capitol Limited, Cardinal, City of New Orleans, Empire Builder, Lake Shore Limited, Southwest Chief, and Texas Eagle). In 2019, the average trip to/from the station was in distance. Among coach and business class passengers, the average trip was in distance, while the average trip among first and sleeper class trip was in distance. Between the fiscal years 2002 and 2008, Amtrak ridership more than doubled at the station, surpassing 3.1 million in the 2008 fiscal year. The following is the top-ten stations which receive the most ridership to/from Chicago Union Station out of the 265 that Amtrak rail services that directly connected with Chicago Union Station as of 2019:

Metra ridership statistics

Cumulative ridership

References

External links

*
Chicago Union Station – Metra
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chicago 1925 establishments in Illinois Amtrak stations in Illinois Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach stations in Illinois Former Chicago and Alton Railroad stations Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad stations Former Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad stations Former Pennsylvania Railroad stations

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 ...

Railway stations located underground in Illinois Railway stations in the United States opened in 1925 Transit centers in the United States Union stations in the United States