Illinois Central
"Central Station"
Chicago, Illinois
Twelfth Street
1892
Used
jointly by the Michigan Central, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis
Railway, and the Chicago & West Michigan Railroad Companies.
From the Chicago Inter-Ocean, Dec., 1893 - "Chicago enjoys the reputation of
having the handsomest office buildings on either hemisphere. Visit the
Illinois Central's new station at Twelfth street, and, although the writer
was prepared to see but a magnificent depot, he stood enraptured at the
grandeur and ingenious architecture of this modern transportation palace.
Very probably no building of equal importance was ever erected under such
difficulties as were encountered with the foundation for the building was
started. Another serious impediment was how to use the economized ground
space owned by the road so as to erect a building that would be adequate to
the demands. The Architect, Bradford L. Gilbert, however, after a great deal
of study and many drawings, evolved the present perfect plan upon which the
pride of Chicago's railway architecture was completed. The cost of
construction has been somewhere in the neighborhood of $1,500,000, but every
point and detail of finish have been carried out to the acme of perfection."
Romanesque Style: The main building was 9 stories high, and the clock tower
was 13 stories high. The exterior was made of a combination of Milford
granite and Pompeian brick, with terra-cotta moldings to match. It had a
main waiting room on the second floor as well as spacious smoking rooms and
woman's waiting room. It also had a restaurant and dining rooms, three
elevators. The train shed was over 600 feet long and covered 8 tracks.
It was opened on April 17, 1893 to accommodate traffic needs for the World's
Columbian Exposition.
Passenger service started to decline after Amtrak service
was available in 1971 at Union Station. In late 1973,
the Illinois Central offices were moved to the Illinois Center. The
station as well as its massive train shed were demolished in 1974.
Sources of interest are shown at the
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