Dearborn Station (Chicago) Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Dearborn Station was the oldest of the six intercity train stations serving Chicago, Illinois during the heyday of rail in the twentieth century. Additionally, the terminal was used as a passenger depot for commuter traffic. Located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, it was also referred to as Polk Street Station.The Romanesque-Revival structure, designed by Cyrus L.W.Eidlitz, opened 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 headhouse 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 restaurants.
The station was closed on May 2 1971 when Amtrak consolidated all 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 that took several of the other Chicago stations including the neighboring Grand Central Station. It stood abandoned into the 1980s when it was converted to retail and office space. The former rail yards were replaced by apartments and townhomes creating a new urban community named Dearborn Park.
Dearborn Station served as passenger depot terminus for the following lines and itercity trains:
- Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad; - Chief and El Capitan to Los Angeles; The Grand Canyon Limited to Grand Canyon; Texas Chief to Dallas; Antelope to Oklahoma City; and Kansas Cityan to Kansas City.
- Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad; -
- Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad; - The Zipper and The Silent Knight to St. Louis; Dixie Flyer to Evansville.
- Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon) - The Hoosier and The Tippecanoe to Indianapolis.
- Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad; -
- Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton Railway; / Cincinnati & Lake Erie Railroad;
- Erie Railroad - Erie Limited and Atlantic Express to New York City.
- Grand Trunk Western Railroad - Maple Leaf and International Limited to Toronto and Montreal.
- Wabash Railroad -Blue Bird and Banner Blue to St. Louis.
The following commuter rail services also operated from the station:
- Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad - operated between Dearborn Station and Dolton, serving mostly local stops within Chicago's far south side. Discontinued in 1964
- Grand Trunk Western Railway - operated from Dearborn Station to Valparaiso, Indiana (later service was cut back to Harvey). Discontinued in 1935
- Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad - operated from Dearborn Station to Crete. Discontinued in 1935
- Erie Railroad - operated service from Dearborn Station to Rochester, Indiana.
- Norfolk & Western Railroad; - operated commuter trains used a track west of station from 1971 to 1976.
See also
Other Chicago intercity rail stations:- Central Station
- Chicago Northwestern Station (aka Madison Street Station)
- Grand Central Station
- LaSalle Street Station
- Union Station
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