TRANSPORTATION · HISTORICAL MARKER
Chicago's Passenger Stations
Transportation
In the nineteen twenties, Chicago had six major steam-road passenger depots, along with many rapid transit and electric interurban stations, and passengers on the roughly two dozen railroads using them typically changed trains and often stations in Chicago rather than riding coast-to-coast through service, with Parmalee Transport providing frequent downtown transfers for passengers and baggage. Of the six grand stations, only Dearborn's headhouse survives, though in non-railroad use; parts of Union and Northwestern still serve rail passengers though their headhouses are gone; and LaSalle Street, Central, and Grand Central have been demolished. Union Station, opened in 1925 from a Daniel Burnham design, remains the only major terminal from the Golden Age still serving intercity passengers, with its restored waiting room and concourse used by Amtrak and Metra, and it once hosted the Pennsylvania, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, Chicago and Alton, and the Milwaukee Road. Northwestern Station, opened in 1911 for the Chicago and North Western alone, later lost its headhouse but its elevated tracks continued in commuter use through what is now the Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center. LaSalle Street Station, begun in 1901, served the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, New York Central, and Nickel Plate before its demolition in 1981 and replacement by facilities for Metra's Rock Island commuter operations. Dearborn Station, opened in 1885 and used by more railroads than any other in Chicago, lost its last trains in 1971 but retains its red sandstone headhouse and clock tower, now housing a shopping mall, while the former train area became a major South Loop housing development. Central Station, completed in 1893 on reclaimed land along Lake Michigan and later bordered by landfill that created Grant Park, served Illinois Central and other lines until its 1972 closure and 1974 demolition, and housing now covers much of the site. Grand Central Station, opened in 1890 with a 242-foot clock tower, served several railroads, and its 1971 demolition helped spark Chicago's historic-preservation movement, while River City now stands on the former yard area.
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