View source for Central Station (Chicago terminal)

{{short description|Railroad terminal in Chicago, Illinois}}
{{distinguish|Grand Central Station (Chicago)|Great Central Station}}
{{Other uses|Central Station (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox station
| name                = Chicago Central Station
| style = Amtrak
| style2 = Amtrak old
| type                = [[Intercity rail]]
| image               = Detroit Publishing - Illinois Central depot, Chicago.jpg
| caption             = Illinois Central Depot, {{circa|1901}}
| address             =
| borough             =
| country             =
| coordinates         = {{Coord|41|52|05|N|87|37|19|W|display=inline,title}}
| owned               =
| operator            =
| line                =
| distance            =
| platforms           =
| tracks              =
| train_operators     =
| connections         = [[Roosevelt Road station]]
| code                =
| zone                =
| website             =
| opened              = April 17, 1893
| closed              = March 5, 1972
| years               = June 3, 1974
| events              = Demolished
| passengers          =
| services            =
| other_services_header=Former services
| other_services={{Adjacent stations|system=Amtrak|line=Panama Limited|left=Homewood|line2=Floridian (1971–1979)|left2=Homewood|line3=James Whitcomb Riley and George Washington|left3=Homewood|to-left3=Cincinnati|line4=Shawnee|left4=Homewood|line5=Illini (Central)|left5=Homewood|line6=Campus|left6=Homewood|system7=Chesapeake and Ohio Railway|line7=C&O Indiana|left7=63rd Street|note-mid7=1907–1910<br/>1925–1933|to-left7=Cincinnati|system8=Illinois Central Railroad|line8=main|left8=43rd Street|line9=Sioux City-Chicago|left9=Hawthorne|system10=New York Central Railroad|line10=Michigan Central|left10=63rd Street|note-mid10=Main Line<br/>(Until 1957)|to-left10=Buffalo|line11=Chicago-Cincinnati|left11=63rd Street|to-left11=Cincinnati|system12= Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad|line12=main|left12=Schiller Park|note-mid12=(1963–1965)|to-left12=Superior|line13=main|left13=Altenheim|note-mid13=(Until 1912)}}
| mapframe = yes
| mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#888 |zoom=15 }}
| architect           = [[Bradford Gilbert|Bradford L. Gilbert]]
| architectural_style = [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]]
}}
'''Central Station''' was an [[intercity rail|intercity]] [[Train station|passenger terminal]] in downtown [[Chicago, Illinois]], at the southern end of [[Grant Park (Chicago)|Grant Park]] near [[Roosevelt Road (Chicago)|Roosevelt Road]] and [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]]. Owned by the [[Illinois Central Railroad]], it also served other companies via [[trackage rights]]. It opened in 1893, replacing [[Great Central Station]] (on the site of the current [[Millennium Station]]), and closed in 1972 when [[Amtrak]] rerouted services to [[Union Station (Chicago)|Union Station]]. The station building was demolished in 1974.  It is now the site of a redevelopment called [[Central Station, Chicago]].
Adjoining platforms at [[Museum Campus/11th Street station|Roosevelt]] served the Illinois Central's [[commuter rail|suburban trains]] for both the [[Metra Electric District|Electric]] and [[Illinois Central West Line|West]] lines, in addition to the [[South Shore Line]] [[interurban railroad]]. All three lines continued north to [[Randolph Street Station|Randolph Street]].
==History==
=== Illinois Central ===
The [[Romanesque Revival architecture|Romanesque Revival]] 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 nine-story building featured a 13-story clock tower and housed the general offices of the railroad. It boasted the largest [[train shed]] in the world at the time, which measured 140 by 610 feet.
Gremley & Bierdermann Inc. was contracted to provide [[Surveying|land survey services]] and determine the boundary line configuration for the "Central Station Substation".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.plcs-survey.com/|title=Home|website=PLCS Corporation|language=en-US|access-date=2018-08-15}}</ref>
The station was built, owned and used by the Illinois Central Railroad for intercity trains, with connections to commuter trains and the [[South Shore Line]] across an adjacent bridge. It was also used by the Illinois Central's [[Chicago, Madison and Northern Railroad (1886–1903)|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.
[[File:Michigan Boulevard at Night pm1912 F.png|thumb|left|1911 Central Station and Illinois Central offices]]
Also sharing the station was the [[Michigan Central Railroad]], part of the [[New York Central Railroad]] system, which had shared the IC's terminal from its opening in 1852. The Michigan Central connected with the Illinois Central at [[Kensington, Illinois|Kensington]]. The [[Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway]] (Big Four), also a New York Central line<!--in 1893 or later?-->, joined the IC at [[Kankakee (IL)|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]].<!--pretty sure this is correct; nothing else makes much sense-->
[[File:Illinois Central E8A 4027 (24332790279).jpg|thumb|left|The Hawkeye at Central Station on April 4, 1971]]
The [[Wisconsin Central Railway (1897–1954)|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, Illinois|Franklin Park]] to [[Broadview, Illinois|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]] opened, and its trains were rerouted from Central to Grand Central.
[[File:1971 Central Station.jpg|thumb|Central Station in 1971]]
The Soo Line switched back to Grand Central Station in 1912. On March 1, 1925, the [[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]] began using Central, switching from [[Dearborn Station (Chicago)|Dearborn Station]]. Its new alignment used the allied [[New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad]] (Nickel Plate Road) from [[Hammond, Indiana]] 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 [[Michigan Central Railroad]] trains from Central to the NYC's [[LaSalle Street Station (Chicago)|LaSalle Street Station]] 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]], settling out of court for $5 million.
=== Amtrak ===
[[File:1971 Central Station back.jpg|thumb|right|The rear of Central Station in February 1971, showing the large [[Illinois Central Railroad|Illinois Central]] sign]]
By May 1, 1971, the startup date of [[Amtrak]], Central was used only by trains of the Illinois Central Railroad (including the ''[[City of Miami (train)|City of Miami]]'', ''[[City of New Orleans (train)|City of New Orleans]]'' and ''[[Panama Limited]]'' on the line south from Chicago, and the ''[[Hawkeye (passenger train)|Hawkeye]]'' on the line to the west) and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (Big Four) (including the ''[[James Whitcomb Riley (train)|James Whitcomb Riley]]''. 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 (train)|Shawnee]]''.<ref name="lind" />{{rp|33}}
On January 23, 1972, Amtrak moved the ''[[Floridian (train, 1971–1979)|Floridian]]'' (renamed from the ''[[South Wind (train)|South Wind]]'' in November 1971) to [[Union Station (Chicago)|Union Station]] due to poor track conditions on its route in [[Indiana]]. The rest of the trains - the ''[[Cardinal (train)|George Washington]]'', ''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.<ref name="lind" />{{rp|34–35}}
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.<ref name="mtrn19740601" /> The commuter platforms remained until Spring 2009, serving the [[Metra Electric Line]] and [[NICTD]]'s [[South Shore Line (NICTD)|South Shore Line]], when they were replaced with more modern structures and renamed [[Museum Campus/11th Street (Metra station)|Museum Campus/11th Street station]]. The railyards south of the station are the site of ongoing redevelopment as the [[Central Station (Chicago neighborhood)|Central Station project]].
==Services==
[[File:Six of Roger Puta's Illinois Central Photos (23728641439).jpg|thumb|right|The IC ticket counter, 1971]]
[[File:Central Station approaches.svg|thumb|Trains into Central Station ran over the tracks of the [[Illinois Central Railroad]].]]
Central Station was a [[terminal station|terminal]] for the following lines and intercity trains:
*'''[[Chesapeake and Ohio Railway]]''' (March 1, 1925 to {{circa|1930s}})
*'''[[Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway]]''' (Big Four)
**''[[Carolina Special]]'' to Asheville, Charlotte, and Charleston
**''[[James Whitcomb Riley (train)|James Whitcomb Riley]]'' to [[Cincinnati, Ohio|Cincinnati]]
**''[[Royal Palm (train)|Royal Palm]]'' and ''[[Ponce de Leon (train)|Ponce de Leon]]'' trains to Georgia and Florida
*'''[[Illinois Central Railroad]]'''
**''[[City of Miami (train)|City of Miami]]'' to [[Miami|Miami, Florida]]
**''[[City of New Orleans (train)|City of New Orleans]]'' and ''[[Panama Limited]]'' to [[New Orleans|New Orleans, Louisiana]]
**''[[Diamond Special]]'' to [[St. Louis|St. Louis, Missouri]]
**''[[Hawkeye (train)|Hawkeye]]'' to [[Sioux Falls, South Dakota]]
**''[[Iowan (train)|Iowan]]'' to [[Sioux City, Iowa]]
**''[[Land O'Corn]]'' to [[Waterloo, Iowa]]
**''[[Seminole (train)|Seminole]]'' to [[Jacksonville, Florida]]
**''[[Shawnee (train)|Shawnee]]'' to [[Carbondale, Illinois]]
**''[[Sinnissippi (train)|Sinnissippi]]'' to [[Freeport, Iowa]]
*'''[[Michigan Central Railroad]]''' (up to January 17, 1957)
**''[[Canadian (NYC train)|Canadian]]'' to [[Montreal, Quebec]], and later to [[Toronto, Ontario]]
**''[[Mercury (train)|Mercury]]'' to [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]], [[Cleveland, Ohio]] and [[Cincinnati, Ohio]]
**''[[North Shore Limited]]'' to [[New York City]]
**''[[Motor City Special]]'' to [[Detroit|Detroit, Michigan]]
**''[[Niagara (train)|Niagara]]'' to [[New York City]] (cut back to Niagara Falls to NYC in 1940s)
**''[[Wolverine (NYC train)|Wolverine]]'' to [[New York City]]
*'''[[Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway]]''' (Soo Line) (1899 to 1912 and after 1965)
**''[[Laker (train)|Laker]]'' to [[Duluth, Minnesota]]
*'''[[Pere Marquette Railroad]]''' (up to December 15, 1903)
*'''[[Amtrak]]''' (through March 5, 1972)
**''[[Floridian (train, 1971–1979)|Floridian]]''
**''[[George Washington (Amtrak)|George Washington]]''/''[[James Whitcomb Riley (Amtrak)|James Whitcomb Riley]]''
**''[[Panama Limited (Amtrak)|Panama Limited]]''
**''[[Shawnee (Amtrak)|Shawnee]]''
The following [[commuter rail]] services operated through the station (southern line [[railway electrification|electrified]] after 1926) en route to [[Millennium Station|Randolph Street Terminal]] (now Millennium Station) approximately 1.5 miles to the north:
*[[Illinois Central Railroad]] - serving mostly local stops to [[South Chicago (IL)|South Chicago]], [[Blue Island, Illinois|Blue Island]] and [[Richton Park (IL)|Richton Park]], later extended to [[University Park, Illinois|University Park]]
*Illinois Central Railroad - serving local stops to [[Addison, Illinois|Addison]] (abandoned 1931)
*[[Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad]] (beginning August 29, 1926) - [[interurban]] electric trains to [[South Bend, Indiana]]
The former Illinois Central electric commuter service is operated by [[Metra]] as its [[Metra Electric District|Electric Line]] and the former South Shore interurban is operated by the [[Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District]].
==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="lind">{{Lind-Limiteds}}</ref>
<ref name="mtrn19740601">{{cite news|title=Begin Tearing Down Illinois Central Station in Chicago|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/870798/demolition_of_central_station_in/|newspaper=[[Mt. Vernon Register-News]]|date=June 1, 1974|page=8|via = [[Newspapers.com]]|accessdate = August 16, 2014 }} {{Open access}}</ref>
}}
*[http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm PRR Chronology] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060907213349/http://www.prrths.com/PRR_hagley_intro.htm |date=2006-09-07 }}
==External links==
{{commons category|Central Station (Chicago)}}
{{Chicago terminals}}
{{Amtrak Illinois stations}}
{{Chicago}}
[[Category:Railway stations in Chicago]]
[[Category:Central Chicago]]
[[Category:Demolished buildings and structures in Chicago]]
[[Category:Demolished railway stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Former Amtrak stations in Illinois]]
[[Category:Former Illinois Central Railroad stations|Chicago]]
[[Category:Former Chesapeake and Ohio Railway stations|Chicago Central]]
[[Category:Former New York Central Railroad stations|Chicago Central]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1893]]
[[Category:Clock towers in Illinois]]
[[Category:1893 establishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:1972 disestablishments in Illinois]]
[[Category:Former Michigan Central Railroad stations|Chicago Central]]
[[Category:Former Pere Marquette Railway stations|Chicago Central]]
[[Category:Romanesque Revival architecture in Illinois]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 1974]]
[[Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1972]]