Day 40: Shopping Time Station

     It was 1885 and the train was the new hot way to get from city to city.  Chicago was swiftly becoming the railroad capital of the world, and new routes were constantly being inaugurated.  Thus, the Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad commissioned a new downtown Chicago station.  This station was to be a grand tribute to the Romanesque Revival style, and it would be designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz.

     Looking at the station today, one of its most distinctive features is the 12-story clock tower centered in the front of the station.  This is original to the 1885 building, however it was modified in 1922 in the course of post-fire repairs.  The clock tower originally had a tall, pitched roof, and the renovation served to flatten out the roof and cut down on the height.  The actual platforms were located behind the station's headhouse, which was appointed with ticket counters, waiting areas, and a Fred Harvey Company restaurant(the Fred Harvey Company was a pioneer in the field of chain restaurants, most of which served railroad stations).  Several different train lines originated from Dearborn Station during its heyday, but one of the more famous lines was the Super Chief, operated by the Santa Fe railroad.

     However, with the decline of passenger rail in the 50s and 60s, the railroads were quickly becoming insolvent and/or disinterested in continuing their passenger operations.  In response to this, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation(aka: Amtrak) was created via a law signed by President Nixon in 1970.  One of the consequences of Amtrak taking over in Chicago was the consolidation of all intercity rail operations to Union Station.  Consequentially, Dearborn Station was closed on May 2, 1971, and its trainshed and tracks had been demolished by 1976.  However, the headhouse was preserved, thus escaping the fate that had befallen most of Chicago's other old train stations.  It lay abandoned until the 80s, when it was turned into a combination retail/office complex, which it still serves as today, standing as one of the only reminders(along with Union Station) of Chicago's rich history with the railroad.