Dearborn Station (Chicago)

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Dearborn Station, prior to 1922.

A view of Dearborn Station's train shed being demolished in May of 1976; the "head house" can be seen at the rear.

Dearborn Station was the oldest of the six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois during the heyday of rail in the twentieth century. Additionally, the station was used as a terminal for commuter traffic. Located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, it was also referred to as Polk Street Station. The station was owned by the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad, which itself was owned by the companies operating over its line.

The Romanesque Revival structure, designed by Cyrus L.W.Eidlitz, opened on May 8, 1885. The three-story building's exterior walls and twelve-story clock tower were comprised of pink granite and red pressed brick topped by a number of steeply-pitched roofs. Modifications to the structure following a fire in 1922 included eliminating the original pitched roof profile. Behind the head house were the train platforms, shielded by a large train shed. Inside the station were ticket counters, waiting rooms, and one of the legendary Fred Harvey Company restaurants.

The station was closed on May 2, 1971 as the first step of Amtrak's consolidation of Chicago's remaining intercity train operations at Union Station. By 1976 Dearborn Station's trainshed was demolished and tracks were removed. However, the headhouse building escaped the fate of several other Chicago stations like the neighboring Grand Central Station.

The train station stood abandoned into the mid 1980s when it was converted to retail and office space. The former rail yards provided the land that is now known as Dearborn Park. This Chicago urban community is one of the nation's most successful urban renewal projects and is comprised of several parks, an elementary school, high rise and mid rise apartment towers, townhomes and single family homes. Today Dearborn Station remains as a landmark that is reminiscent of the railroad era but is now the focal point for a dynamic residential neighborhood.

[edit] Services

Dearborn Station served as terminal for the following lines and intercity trains:

• Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway — the Chief, Super Chief, El Capitan, and Grand Canyon Limited (to name but a few) to Los Angeles; the Texas Chief to Dallas; the Antelope to Oklahoma City; and the Kansas Cityan (and its eastbound counterpart, the Chicagoan) to Kansas City.

All lines operating into Dearborn Station, except for the Santa Fe, travelled over the C&WI's tracks.

• Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (moved to Central Station February 28, 1925).
• Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad — Zipper and Silent Knight to St. Louis; Dixie Flyer to Evansville.
• Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon) — Hoosier and Tippecanoe to Indianapolis.
• Erie Railroad — Erie Limited and Atlantic Express to New York City.
• Grand Trunk Western Railroad — Maple Leaf, Inter-city Limited and International Limited to Toronto and Montreal. Mohawk to Detroit.
• Wabash Railway — Blue Bird and Banner Blue to St. Louis.
• Amtrak — Texas Chief and Super Chief/El Capitan (only May 1, 1971; thereafter moved to Union Station).

Note: Although the Santa Fe by far operated the greatest number of trains from the station, it was only a tenant.

The following commuter rail services also operated from the station:

• Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (until 1935) — operated from Dearborn Station to Crete, Illinois.
• Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (until 1964) — operated between Dearborn Station and Dolton, Illinois, serving mostly local stops within Chicago's far south side.
• Erie Railroad — operated from Dearborn Station to Rochester, Indiana.
• Grand Trunk Western Railway (until 1935) — operated from Dearborn Station to Valparaiso, Indiana (later service was cut back to Harvey, Illinois).
• Wabash Railway (until 1976, when moved to Union Station) — operated to a track west of the station, now Metra's SouthWest Service.

[edit] References

• PRR Chronology

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dearborn Station (Chicago)

• Chicago architecture

[edit] External links

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