Central Station was an

intercity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

passenger terminal in downtown

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, at the southern end of Grant Park near

Roosevelt Road Roosevelt Road (originally named 12th Street) is a major east-west street in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only south of Madison Street. It runs under t ...

and Michigan Avenue. Owned by the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

, it also served other companies via

trackage rights Railway companies can interact with and control others in many ways. These relationships can be complicated by bankruptcies. Operating Often, when a railroad first opens, it is only a short spur of a main line. The owner of the spur line may c ...

. It opened in 1893, replacing

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 pass ...

(on the site of the current

Millennium Station Millennium Station, (previously known as Randolph Street Terminal and occasionally referred to as Randolph Street station or Randolph/South Water Street station) is a commuter rail terminal located in the Chicago Loop, Loop area of Chicago, do ...

), and closed in 1972 when

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

rerouted services to

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

. The station building was demolished in 1974. It is now the site of a redevelopment called

Central Station, Chicago Central Station is a residential development project in the South Loop section of Chicago, Illinois. Originally planned as a development, it was later expanded to ,McClendon, Dennis, ''Near South Side'', p. 563, Eds. Grossman, James R., Keating, ...

. Adjoining platforms at Roosevelt served the Illinois Central's suburban trains for both the

Electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

and

West West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

lines, in addition to the

South Shore Line The South Shore Line is an electrically powered commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois and the South Bend Airport station in Sout ...

interurban railroad. All three lines continued north to

Randolph Street Randolph Street is a street in Chicago running east–west through the Loop, carrying westbound traffic west from Michigan Avenue across the Chicago River on the Randolph Street Bridge, interchanging with the Kennedy Expressway ( I-90/ I-94) ...

History

Illinois Central

The

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 t ...

structure, designed by Bradford L. Gilbert and built by the Illinois Central Railroad, opened April 17, 1893, to meet the traffic demands of the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...

. The nine-story building featured a 13-story clock tower and housed the general offices of the railroad. It boasted the largest

train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...

in the world at the time, which measured 140 by 610 feet. Gremley & Bierdermann Inc. was contracted to provide land survey services and determine the boundary line configuration for the "Central Station Substation". The station was built, owned and used by the Illinois Central Railroad for intercity trains, with connections to commuter trains and the

across an adjacent bridge. It was also used by the Illinois Central's Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad, merged into the IC in 1902, which reached the station via the St. Charles Air Line Railroad, meeting the IC main line just south of the station. Michigan Boulevard at Night pm1912 F

Also sharing the station was the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

, part of the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...

system, which had shared the IC's terminal from its opening in 1852. The Michigan Central connected with the Illinois Central at

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

. The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four), also a New York Central line, joined the IC at Kankakee and also used Central Station. Using the station from the beginning was the Chicago and West Michigan Railway, consolidated into the Pere Marquette Railroad in 1900. At the time it used the Michigan Central west from

New Buffalo, Michigan New Buffalo is a city in Berrien County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,708 during the 2020 census. History The area around the mouth of the Galien River was originally populated by Miami and Potawatomi peoples. Later, Fren ...

. The Wisconsin Central Railway (part of the Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line) after 1909) switched from Grand Central Station to Central in 1899 due to disagreements with the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad, which owned Grand Central. To get to Central it used a portion of the recently opened Chicago, Hammond and Western Railroad (later the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad) from Franklin Park to Broadview, and the Illinois Central's Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad from Broadview to the terminal. On December 15, 1903, the Pere Marquette Railroad's line to

Porter, Indiana Porter is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, Porter County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 5,210 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Porter is in t ...

opened, and its trains were rerouted from Central to Grand Central. 1971 Central Station

The Soo Line switched back to Grand Central Station in 1912. On March 1, 1925, the

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...

began using Central, switching from Dearborn Station. Its new alignment used the allied New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) from

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

north to Grand Crossing, Illinois, where it joined the Illinois Central to its terminal. In 1963 the Soo Line once again switched stations, moving back into Central for its final years of passenger service. The New York Central Railroad moved its

trains from Central to the NYC's

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 ...

on January 18, 1957. The Illinois Central Railroad sued the Michigan Central, which had used the Illinois Central's Chicago terminal since 1852, for

breach of contract Breach of contract is a legal cause of action and a type of civil wrong, in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other part ...

, settling out of court for $5 million.

Amtrak

By May 1, 1971, the startup date of

, Central was used only by trains of the Illinois Central Railroad (including the '' City of Miami'', '' City of New Orleans'' and '' Panama Limited'' on the line south from Chicago, and the '' Hawkeye'' on the line to the west) and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four) (including the ''

James Whitcomb Riley James Whitcomb Riley (October 7, 1849 – July 22, 1916) was an American writer, poet, and best-selling author. During his lifetime he was known as the "Hoosier Poet" and "Children's Poet" for his dialect works and his children's poetry. His ...

''. Amtrak continued only the ''City of New Orleans'', ''James Whitcomb Riley'' and moved the ''South Wind'' to Central Station as part of a rerouting on the Penn Central from former Pennsylvania trackage in Indiana to the former Big Four, as well as the IC's local ''

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

''. On January 23, 1972, Amtrak moved the '' Floridian'' (renamed from the ''

South Wind The south wind is the wind that originates from the south and blows north. South Wind may also refer to: * ''South Wind'' (film), 2018 Serbian film * ''South Wind'' (TV series), 2020 Serbian TV series * , 2021 Serbian film * , 2022 Serbian TV s ...

'' in November 1971) to

due to poor track conditions on its route in

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The rest of the trains - the ''

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

'', ''James Whitcomb Riley'', ''Panama Limited'' (temporarily renamed from the ''City of New Orleans'', also in November 1971), and the ''Shawnee'' - last served Central Station March 5, 1972, after which they were rerouted to Union Station. The ''Panama Limited'' and ''Shawnee'' continued to use the IC to just south of Central Station, where they turned west onto the St. Charles Air Line as a realigned junction and ran west to Union Station, including at least one reversal to reach the station, a practice which continues today. In late 1973, the Illinois Central relocated its general offices to the new Illinois Center. Demolition of Central Station and its train shed began on June 3, 1974. The commuter platforms remained until Spring 2009, serving the

Metra Electric Line The Metra Electric District is an electrified commuter rail line owned and operated by Metra which connects Millennium Station (formerly Randolph Street Station), in downtown Chicago, with the city's southern suburbs. As of 2018, it is the fif ...

and NICTD's

, when they were replaced with more modern structures and renamed Museum Campus/11th Street station. The railyards south of the station are the site of ongoing redevelopment as the Central Station project.

Services

Central Station was a terminal for the following lines and intercity trains: *

(March 1, 1925 to ) * Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four) **'' Carolina Special'' to Asheville, Charlotte, and Charleston **''

'' to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

**''

Royal Palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been plan ...

'' and '' Ponce de Leon'' trains to Georgia and Florida *

**'' City of Miami'' to

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

**'' City of New Orleans'' and '' Panama Limited'' to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

**'' Diamond Special'' to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

**'' Hawkeye'' to

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

**'' Iowan'' to

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

**'' Land O'Corn'' to

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

**''

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

'' to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

**''

'' to

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...

**'' Sinnissippi'' to Freeport, Iowa *

(up to January 17, 1957) **''

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

'' to

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and later to

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

**'' Mercury'' to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

and

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

**'' North Shore Limited'' to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

**'' Motor City Special'' to

**'' Niagara'' to

(cut back to Niagara Falls to NYC in 1940s) **''

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

'' to

* Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway (Soo Line) (1899 to 1912 and after 1965) **'' Laker'' to

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

* Pere Marquette Railroad (up to December 15, 1903) *

(through March 5, 1972) **'' Floridian'' **''

''/''

'' **'' Panama Limited'' **''

'' The following

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

services operated through the station (southern line electrified after 1926) en route to Randolph Street Terminal (now Millennium Station) approximately 1.5 miles to the north: *

- serving mostly local stops to

South Chicago South Chicago, formerly known as Ainsworth, is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. This chevron-shaped community is one of Chicago's 16 lakefront neighborhoods near the southern rim of Lake Michigan 10 miles south of downtow ...

, Blue Island and Richton Park, later extended to University Park *Illinois Central Railroad - serving local stops to Addison (abandoned 1931) * Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (beginning August 29, 1926) -

interurban The interurban (or radial railway in Canada) is a type of electric railway, with tram-like electric self-propelled railcars which run within and between cities or towns. The term "interurban" is usually used in North America, with other terms u ...

electric trains to

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. It lies along the St. Joseph River (Lake Michigan), St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. It is the List of cities in ...

The former Illinois Central electric commuter service is operated by

Metra Metra is the primary 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 243 train station, stati ...

as its Electric Line and the former South Shore interurban is operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District.

References

External links

{{Chicago Railway stations in Chicago Central Chicago Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago Demolished railway stations in the United States Former Amtrak stations in Illinois

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Chicago Central Chicago Central Railway stations in the United States opened in 1893 Clock towers in Illinois 1893 establishments in Illinois 1972 disestablishments in Illinois Chicago Central Chicago Central Romanesque Revival architecture in Illinois Buildings and structures demolished in 1974 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1972