Dearborn Station

Chicago
Dearborn Station
Dearborn Station head house, 2006
General information
Location47 West Polk Street
Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates41°52′19.78″N 87°37′41.89″W / 41.8721611°N 87.6283028°W / 41.8721611; -87.6283028
History
OpenedMay 8, 1885
Other services
Preceding station Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad Following station
Terminus Suburban service 47th Street
toward Dolton
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
McCook Main Line Terminus
Preceding station Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Following station
Dolton
toward Evansville
Main Line Terminus
Dolton
toward St. Louis
ChicagoSt. Louis
Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station
Terminus Main Line 47th Street
Preceding station Grand Trunk Western Railroad Following station
Terminus Main Line 47th Street
toward Port Huron
Suburban Service (Chicago) 47th Street
toward Valparaiso
Preceding station Monon Railroad Following station
Terminus Main Line 47th Street
toward Louisville
Preceding station Wabash Railroad Following station
47th Street Main Line Terminus
Terminus ChicagoBuffalo 47th Street
toward Buffalo
Preceding station Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Following station
Terminus Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad
1910-1925
47th Street
toward Cincinnati
Dearborn Station
Map
Built1883; 140 years ago (1883)
ArchitectCyrus L. W. Eidlitz
Architectural styleRomanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.76000688
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMarch 26, 1976; 47 years ago (1976-03-26)
Designated CLMarch 2, 1982
All lines operating into Dearborn Station, except for the Santa Fe, travelled over the C&WI's

Dearborn Station (also referred to as Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six intercity train stations serving downtown Chicago, Illinois. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, adjacent to Printers Row. The station was owned by the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, which itself was owned by the companies operating over its line. The station is now a shopping mall housing office, retail, and entertainment spaces.

Description and history

Postcard of Dearborn Station as it appeared c. 1907. Originally, it had a steeped pitch roof story, which was eliminated in reconstruction in the 1920s

The Romanesque Revival structure, designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz, opened in 1885 at a cost of $400 to $500 thousand (equivalent to $13 to $16.3 million in 2023). The three-story building's exterior walls and twelve-story clock tower were composed 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 Fred Harvey Company restaurants.

Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) chose to consolidate its Chicago operations at the Union Station. The final intercity passenger train to depart Dearborn Station was the Grand Trunk Western Railroad's International Limited, which departed on April 30, 1971. The arrival of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway's San Francisco Chief and Grand Canyon from California on May 2 brought intercity operations at Dearborn to a close. The Norfolk & Western Railway's Orland Park commuter service, the Orland Park Cannonball, continued to use a platform at Dearborn until 1976.

By 1976, Dearborn Station's train shed was demolished and tracks were removed; the head house building was retained. The train station stood abandoned into the mid-1980s when it was converted to retail and office space. The former rail yards were converted for use as Dearborn Park.

Tower Detail

Services

The Kansas City Chief at Dearborn Station on February 5, 1968

Some of the railroads that served the station include the following, with some of the more well-known name trains listed:

The following commuter rail services also operated from the station:

In popular culture

In blues musician Henry Thomas' 1927 song "Railroadin' Some", the "Polk Street Depot" is the next to last stop on a journey that begins in Fort Worth, Texas, and ends in Chicago.

Dearborn Station is mentioned multiple times in the 1974 "Adam's Ribs" episode of M*A*S*H, in which Hawkeye Pierce craves the barbecued ribs from a fictional restaurant adjacent to the station, but can't recall the name. He calls the station master from South Korea to get the restaurant's name and phone number. He incorrectly calls it the "Dearborn Street Station".

"Dearborn Station" is a song by the rock band Fortune that was released in 1985.

Photo Gallery

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-10-09 17:39 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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