Dearborn Station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dearborn Station
Dearborn Station head house, 2006
Location	47 West Polk Street Chicago, Illinois
Coordinates	41°52′19.78″N 87°37′41.89″W / 41.8721611°N 87.6283028°W / 41.8721611; -87.6283028
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 toward Los Angeles Main Line Terminus Preceding station Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad Following station Dolton toward Evansville Main Line Terminus Dolton toward St. Louis Chicago – St. Louis Preceding station Erie Railroad Following station Terminus Main Line Marion toward Jersey City 47th Street toward Jersey City Preceding station Grand Trunk Western Railroad Following station Terminus Main Line 47th Street toward Port Huron Suburban Service 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 toward Kansas City Main Line Terminus Terminus Chicago – Buffalo 47th Street toward Buffalo Preceding station Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Following station Terminus Chicago, Cincinnati & Louisville Railroad 1911-1925 47th Street toward Cincinnati
Dearborn Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Built	1883; 142 years ago (1883)
Architect	Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz
Architectural style	Romanesque Revival
NRHP reference No.	76000688
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	March 26, 1976; 49 years ago (1976-03-26)

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

Dearborn Station, also called Polk Street Depot, was a very important train station in downtown Chicago, Illinois. It opened in 1885 and was one of six major stations in the city. For many years, it helped people travel between cities by train. The station closed in 1971. Today, this historic building has been changed into a shopping mall with offices, shops, and fun places. It is located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, next to an area called Printers Row.

A Look Back: History of Dearborn Station

Postcard of Dearborn Station around 1907. The original roof was steeper, but it was changed after a fire in the 1920s.

The building was designed by Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz in a style called Romanesque Revival. It opened on May 8, 1885. Building it cost between $400,000 and $500,000, which would be millions of dollars today!

The station was three stories tall. Its outside walls and a tall, twelve-story clock tower were made of pink granite and red bricks. The original building had steeply-pitched roofs. After a fire in 1922, the roofs were rebuilt without the steep pitches. Behind the main building, there were many platforms where trains stopped. A big train shed covered these platforms. Inside the station, people could buy tickets, wait for their trains, and eat at restaurants.

In 1971, a new national train company called Amtrak decided to use only one main station in Chicago, the Union Station. This meant Dearborn Station would close for most long-distance trains. The very last long-distance passenger train to leave Dearborn Station was the International Limited on April 30, 1971. The last trains to arrive were the San Francisco Chief and Grand Canyon from California on May 2.

However, a local commuter train service, the Orland Park Cannonball, continued to use a platform at Dearborn Station until 1976.

By 1976, the large train shed behind the station was taken down, and the train tracks were removed. Only the main building, called the head house, was saved. The station building was empty for several years. In the mid-1980s, it was renovated and turned into the shops and offices you see today. The old train yards around it became a park called Dearborn Park.

A close-up view of the station's clock tower.

Trains and Services at Dearborn Station

The Kansas City Chief train at Dearborn Station in 1968.

In 1920, Dearborn Station was a very busy place. It was the end point, or terminal, for 25 different railway lines. About 17,000 passengers used the station every day, with 122 trains coming and going!

Many famous trains and railway companies used Dearborn Station. Here are some of the main ones:

• Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe): This company ran many well-known trains from Dearborn Station. These included the Chief, Super Chief, El Capitan, and Grand Canyon Limited to Los Angeles, California. Other trains went to Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas City, and San Francisco. Even though Santa Fe had the most trains, they rented space at the station.
• Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad: Trains like the Cardinal and Dixie Flyer went to places like St. Louis, Missouri, and even as far as Miami, Florida.
• Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway (Monon): This railway ran trains like the Hoosier to Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Thoroughbred to Louisville, Kentucky.
• Erie Railroad: Trains such as the Erie Limited and Phoebe Snow traveled to New Jersey.
• Grand Trunk Western Railroad: This company had trains like the Maple Leaf and International Limited that went all the way to Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal, Quebec, in Canada.
• Wabash Railroad: Their famous trains, the Blue Bird and Banner Blue, went to St. Louis, Missouri.

Some local commuter train services also used Dearborn Station:

• Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad (until 1935): These trains went to Crete, Illinois. There are plans to bring this route back as the Metra SouthEast Service.
• Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad (until 1964): These trains mostly served local stops on Chicago's south side, going to Dolton, Illinois.
• Grand Trunk Western Railroad (until 1935): These trains went to Valparaiso, Indiana, though later service was shorter, ending at Harvey, Illinois.
• Wabash Railroad (later Norfolk and Western Railway): This service used tracks near the station until 1976. Today, it's part of Metra's SouthWest Service.

Images for kids

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  The north (front) and west side of Dearborn Station.

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  The east side of the building.

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  The south (rear) side of the station.

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  A view inside the building today.

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  The station's train shed being taken down in May 1976; the main building can be seen in the background.

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  The area where the train platforms used to be.