in 1911 when it opened the chicago northwestern passenger terminal referred to by some as
chicago's pride was one of the largest passenger terminals in the united states
it cost around 23 million dollars in total to build and was widely considered one of
the finest in the entire country this incredible terminal ushered in a new era in passenger care
and set a precedent throughout chicago it occupied 13 acres of land and was largely inspired by the
early italian renaissance and beaux arts architecture style this terminal attracted
thousands of passengers every single day thanks to its many different accommodations including
its own powerhouse building private rooms and even emergency rooms with free hospital service
though it was demolished in 1984 and replaced by city corps center which houses the modern-day
aggieville transportation center this incredible story of the chicago northwestern passenger
terminal is not entirely lost so join me in exploring the history of this former masterpiece
i'm your host ryan socas and you're watching it's history
today we will discover the history of chicago's lost train terminal a place
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to chicago so that i could hang out at that lost terminal because as it just so happens i am a 100
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let's head back to chicago's lost train terminal we'll start our journey with the origins of the
railroad that chicago and the northwestern passenger terminal was constructed to service
as america's breadbasket boomed there was an ever increasing need for more railroad trackage
to serve the states within it was because of this need that the chicago and northwestern railway was
officially chartered on june the 7th 1859 it was created through a merger joining several
smaller railroads in illinois and wisconsin purchasing assets such as the now bankrupt chicago
saint paul and fort d-lock railroad and eventually merged with its impressive predecessor the galena
and chicago union interestingly the galena and chicago union was not only chicago's first
railroad but the first railroad to operate a steam locomotive out of chicago the galena and chicago
union projects stalled considerably at first its goal of connecting the cities from which
it drew its name went on hold as construction didn't start for over a decade after its charter
it wasn't until it was taken over by a group with both the money and determination to see it through
and so work on the new railroad finally started in june of 1848 by 1850 42 miles were open to elgin
and in 1853 the first station at wells street opened along the west side of the chicago river
this was just a few years before the chicago and northwestern railway would acquire the galena and
chicago union along with two other lines which now form the lines of the metro's union pacific
district and even though it didn't reach galena until the merger with the chicago and northwestern
railway the galena and chicago union earned a considerable profit right from the start thanks
to the agricultural boom prior to the merger the galena and chicago union network totaled around
545 miles including its subsidiaries and this was the earliest component of the chicago northwestern
railways the chicago northwestern company was led by the first mayor of chicago william b ogden who
later transferred leadership to marvin hewlett between 1872 and 1910 the length of the railroad
track grew from 1 400 to 10 000 miles serving areas in wisconsin iowa nebraska south dakota
illinois missouri michigan and even as far out as north dakota and wyoming this venture was so
successful that it actually survived bankruptcy in the great depression the encyclopedia of chicago
writes that by the year of 1961 the chicago and northwestern railway had over 200 million dollars
in annual revenue and roughly 16 000 employees nationwide by 1968 it absorbed the chicago great
western and not long after that became a part of the northwestern industries conglomerate in 1986
the railroad's annual revenue reached almost 1 billion dollars when it became known as cnw corp
though it was bought in 1995 by the union pacific corp and thus lost its independence as a railroad
in its heyday the chicago and north saw many different kinds of locomotives including alcos
time freights and even locomotives carrying heavy ore out of michigan's upper peninsula so now that
we understand the scale of these railroads let's shift our focus back to the incredible minds who
designed the chicago and northwestern passenger terminal this beautiful terminal was designed
by alfred h granger and charles sumner frost two brother-in-laws who worked together to produce
dozens of incredible structures all across chicago many boasting neoclassical ornamentation from 1889
frost worked on his architectural projects before starting a long-lasting partnership with granger
after granger completed his impressive education starting at kenyon college and
the massachusetts institute of technology followed by additional studies in paris he
first worked with the architect charles coolidge to design the art institute of chicago for the
1893 world's colombian exposition and later the architectural firm johnny and mundy before working
in a private practice in ohio he worked in the private practice for four years starting in 1894
before returning to chicago in 1898 to begin the partnership with frost one interesting fact about
frost and grandeur is that they married into the same family both of their wives were the daughters
of marvin hewitt the then president of the chicago northwestern railroad it was this connection
then that would bring them much of the work and credibility needed to design so many large-scale
buildings for the railroad company including the chicago and northwestern passenger terminal of
course they designed the company's office building at 226 west jackson which was constructed in 1904
and still stands today it currently houses the city college's headquarters throughout
the years frost and grandeur worked together to design many buildings throughout the north shore
extending well beyond the city these buildings include the lake buff and east lake forest depots
along with over 200 buildings for the chicago and northwestern the milwaukee road the rock island
the great northern railroads and the 1907 george forbes home in fact according to the
history center of lake forest and lake bluff it's thanks to forrest and grandeur that the
lake forest college campus experienced a major architectural boom designing buildings such as the
1898 alice home hospital and the 1899-1900 reed hall so now that we have the foundation in place
let's examine why and how the chicago northwestern passenger terminal came to be the chicago
northwestern passenger terminal was built to replace the chicago and northwestern railway's
former passenger terminal the well street station the well street station opened in 1881 as a
reconstruction of another previous station which had been destroyed in the great fire of 1871.
it served thousands of passenger trains over the course of 30 years before finally being replaced
seeing on average 32 000 passengers and 200 trains every single day the station was five stories tall
and also held office space for railroad executives and workers it had a 12-track train shed and was
one of the main stations that served a single railroad exclusively even after the chicago and
northwestern passenger terminal was built in the hopes of relieving rail congestion on the bridge
over the river with its elevated approaches the well street station remained in use for freight
the merchandise mart also used the air rights above the railroad in the 1930s situated on
madison street on the west side of the chicago river the chicago and northwestern passenger
terminal opened to great acclaim in june of 1911. the opening came after five and a half years of
work and many delays the terminal was not only one of chicago's largest and finest railroad depots
but the second largest in the entire country it was located around five blocks northeast of the
chicago and northwestern railway office building on the west side of the chicago river extending
from madison street north to the intersection of clinton street and milwaukee avenue in its heyday
the passenger terminal was a sight to behold boasting graceful towering archways and sprawling
13 acres in space it stood at 320 by 218 feet and was four stories high an emblem of neoclassicism
an elegant doric portugal towered 120 feet over the street level at the main entrance one of
seven public entrances into the building a massive sign on top of the building beckoned passengers
from far near the chicago tribune wrote that while utility services were the main focus
during construction its architecture was no less incredible inspired by railway terminals
such as those at london liverpool edinboro vienna and paris 37 000 tons of structural steel were
used to build the station and its approaches and it was lavishly outfitted with terracotta
tile and ornamental brick well outwardly it appeared to be made of stone the effect
was actually created by burnt clay one quote described the terminal as a lasting monument
to the merit of brick fireproofing and terracotta construction the build job was done by goa
fuller construction company which specialized in fire resistant materials and burnt clay decorative
features the upper parts of the main exterior facing madison street were made of granite
and the side facing outwards towards canal and clinton street were bricked with limestone
trimmings furnished by the hydraulic brick press company of chicago the exterior was finished with
indiana limestone quarried in bedford indiana and the great room was furnished with terracotta from
the american terracotta company the grillby tile company of boston supplied rich green tiles that
decorated the walls and the ceiling was made up of interlocking cream-colored guastavino tiles at the
street level the concourse or great lobby extended through canal street and clinton street to provide
utmost convenience to travelers who came and went through its halls the terminal also had ticket cab
and telegraph offices as well as a lunchroom and approach with ornamental tiles freezes throughout
the concourse also had access to men's and ladies waiting rooms public and private carriage
entrances and private elevators to various other rooms such as tea rooms baths children's rooms
retiring rooms which were a type of dormitory and emergency rooms the latter of which providing free
hospital service to those who might need it while traveling lighting ventilation and heating were
all provided throughout the terminal thanks to its dedicated plant which was in turn powered by its
powerhouse believe it or not the air was changed through the ventilation system every 12 minutes
passengers in need of refreshments could turn to the public drinking fountains throughout the
building the train shed cost around 6 million dollars and had 16 tracks but would you believe
that there was also a fully operational post office beneath it automatic mail conveyors
placed between the tracks delivered mail pouches to station u where it would be stored in total the
new station had a capacity of over a quarter of a million passengers per day five times that of
the old well station according to the figures compiled by the chicago and northwestern the
total number of arrivals and departures at its new chicago passenger terminal during the first year
since its opening on june the 4th 1911 was over 18 million and on average 51 500 passengers per day
in may of 1912 47 215 people were served lunch in the dining room and the yearly total was 585
200 meals the volume of mail moving in and out of the terminal every day was on average 150 tons but
as we've learned from new york's lost penn station nothing lasts forever the story of the chicago and
northwestern passenger terminal is a striking example of this despite the incredible success
it enjoyed throughout its lifetime as well as the considerable public outcry when plans to demolish
the terminal first came up plans were indeed set to raise the station and the reasons were rather
straightforward because by the 1980s this terminal was dated and it needed to be replaced with
something much newer many preservationists wanted to preserve the incredible italian renaissance
structure though ultimately it was denied historic landmark status in order to make way for the new
tower that now stands in its place while much of this long-lasting terminal has been forgotten one
particularly notable remnant remains in the west loop of chicago there is one particularly old
building that stands out against the horizon to some it sticks out like a sore thumb though
to those who know its story it is an incredible relic of the former terminal construction on this
powerhouse started in 1909 and was completed alongside its station though it's important to
note that the powerhouse had already been out of business for around two decades at the time of the
terminal's demolition generally speaking it's quite noticeable as the towering 227 foot tall
smokestack really stands out it was once attached to the exhaust of generators that powered the
equivalent of what would be necessary for 15 000 people to live it was originally a four room
complex equipped with a large engine and a boiler room an engineer's office and a reception room
the powerhouse provided steam heat to the train station train yard freight houses along with the
interlocking tower and the erie street coach yard where passenger cars were heated up before use
the powerhouse also provided electricity to the station offices and buildings that
were a part of the chicago and northwestern complex via generator after its accompanying
terminal was demolished in 1984 there were plans to raise the powerhouse along with it
however it was thankfully saved from that ultimate fate the building was purchased by a real estate
developer who renovated it and repaired it adding two interior floors and overhauling its design
it still stands today thanks to these renovations now serving as an office and retail space though
the chicago and northwestern passenger terminal was denied designation as a historical landmark
its former powerhouse is protected as a designated city of chicago landmark and is listed under the
national register of historic places which i must admit is some pretty interesting prioritizing
on one hand you bulldoze the beautiful grand terminal but of course you designate
the smokestacks that makes a lot of sense nowadays the former opulence of the chicago
and northwestern passenger terminal has long since been traded for a terminal that well efficient is
more reminiscent of a tacky airport times and trends have changed and although we have given
up on the glory of the past at least we still have a nice smokestack to admire keep this story
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don't forget to watch our episode on new york's lost penn station this is ryan socas signing off