Union Depot

Union Depot
Life Span: 1881-1925
Location: W. Adams and Canal streets
Architect: William W. Boyington

Chicago Tribune, January 18, 1880

THE WEST SIDE UNION DEPOT, AND JACKSON STREET.
The Chicago & Alton, the Pittsburgh & Fort Wayne, and the Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad Companies propose to build a union depot on Canal street, extending from Madison to Van Buren. Monroe street, east of Canal, has long since been vacated; at Adams street there are a viaduct and bridge; and Jackson street is still open to the river. The railroad corporations have asked the City Council to vacate so much of Jackson street as is east of Canal street, that it may be built upon and used as part of the depot.

On the other hand, the owners of property on Jackson street, on both sides of the river, from State street west to Hoyne, have petitioned the City Council that a viaduct and bridge be constructed at Jackson street. Here we have a case of conflicting interests. On the one hand, the building of this Union Depot will be of great benefit to the public. Its construction will remove the unsightly and unsavory mass of rambling wooden sheds now occupied by the railroads, which are a disgrace to the corporations which have perpetuated them so long. This passenger depot rehabilitation of South Canal street, greatly to its benefit and to the sanitary as well as architectural improvement of one of the most unsightly and dilapidated neighborhoods in Chicago. On the other hand, the West Division is of immense area, containing more than half the entire population of the city. Several square miles of territory are occupied as residences of persons doing business in other parts of the city. A very large portion of the same division is devoted to manufacturing establishments, and the tide of travel and of transportation from one side of the river to the other has become so great that every bridge is occupied to its full capacity, and the necessity for other bridges in the near future is quite evident. The property-owners on Jackson street have taken steps for its improvement during the coming season, and this, they believe, will furnish the public with a new thoroughfare,t o which a bridge is, of course, a necessity.

There does not seem to be the least antagonism on the part of the citizens to the depot building; on the contrary, they insist that there is nothing inconsistent with the two works. They claim that the roof of the depot building will be sufficiently high, and, if not, can be made sufficiently high, to admit of a viaduct from Canal street to the east line of the building, passing through the upper part of that structure on a level with the bridge. They claim that this can be done without the least inconvenience to the railroad building, the roof of which can be thrown over and inclose the viaduct, and that such a change in the plan would be an improvement and an ornament to its architecture.

It is understood that the railroad companies refuse all arrangements save the absolute vacation of the east end of Jackson street; that they insist on that as a condition of building a depot at all. At the same time, the Jackson street property-holders insist upon having a bridge at Jackson street, and, while willing to make any concessions and any sacrifice short of abandoning the bridge, they will have the latter whether the railroad people build a depot or not. This question, which promises to be a lively one, may be expected to occupy the attention of the City Council for several months to come.

It should not be forgotten that the practice has heretofore been to have bridges only at alternate streets, the distance otherwise being too short to admit of the safe management of vessels. The present style of ship-building is in the direction of the longest possible keels. Some of the propellers put on the are longer than some of our blocks. There is danger, therefore, in having bridges too near each. other, as it may result in so crowding the river at the bridges as to block the channel and keep the bridges open, to the interference of traveL

Chicago Tribune, February 22, 1880
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THE WEST SIDE UNION DEPOT
Mr. F. Slataper, Chief Engineer of the Pennsylvania Company, has completed the plans for the new Union Depot between Canal street and the river and Madison and Van Buren streets and contracts will be awarded Immediately and work commenced as soon as the weather will permit. The new structure will be one of the finest railroad in the country. and will be inferior only to the Grand Central Depot in New York. It will extend from a point 150 feet south of Madison street to a point 240 feet north of Van Buren street, and will have a width of 100 feet and a length of 1,80 feet, all of which will be under iron arches covered with an iron roof. The structure will be divided in two parts by the Adams street viaduct, but beneath the viaduct the tracks will be continuous. It will contain five tracks and two baggage tracks on each side of the-baggage houses, shown in the diagram on the right.

The main building for offices, waiting-rooms, etc., will be a little north of the Adams street viaduct, with a frontage on Canal street of 200 feet. and a width of fifty-eight feet. This part of the depot will be three stories in height, surmounted by three towers similar to those on the Rock Island depot, two on each end and one in the centre. This building will have two entrances on Canal street, one large and very elaborate one in the centre, which leads into general waiting-rooms on each side of a large stairway leading down to the track-level end another smaller near the north end that leads directly into the ladles’ waiting-room; a stairway also leads directly from this room to the tracks The general reception-rooms and offices on the second floor which is even with the Canal street level. This building is flanked on each end by a baggage-room 150 feet by 25 feet, that one on the south end being south of Adams street viaduct- The lower or basement floor. which is on the track-level, will be occupied by the lunch and smoking rooms, depotmaster’s and conductors’ rooms, and an engine-room. The second or main floor will be divided into dining-rooms, general waiting-rooms, ladies’ waiting-room with private room, and private lunch-room for ladies and the ticket-office. The third floor will be subdivided into offices for the use of the local departments of the roads and the kitchen. At the south end of the main building, immediately north of Adams street viaduct, will be a covered stairway leading to the track-level. A handsome veranda will extend the whole length of the main building and baggage-rooms on the Canal-street front.

These buildings will be of Philadelphia pressed brick, black points, with ornamental and highly elaborate stone trimmings. The kind of stone to be used has not yet been decided upon. The main structure will be surmounted by three towers, one on each end, and one In the centre directly over the grand entrance. The bight of the building from the entry to the main ball to the cornice will be sixty-four feet, and from the level of the track to the top of the main or central tower, l10 feet. The two side towers will be from ten to twelve feet lower than the central tower. The height of the basement floor will be thirteen feet; main floor, twenty-feet: third floor, eighteen feet. The building will be as nearly fire-proof as possible. The first and main stories will be entirely of iron and brick, with tile and marble flooring. The top will have iron girders with wood joists, and all floors will be deadened with three inches of cement. The frame work of the roof will be of iron, and the covering will be slate and tin with Iron trimmings. The reception rooms are to be elaborately finished in hard wood.
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The baggage will be delivered from the Canal street level. The exact cost of the building has not been fully estimated, but will be over $1,000,000. The depot is being built jointly by the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, Chicago & Alton, and Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. There will be room enough, however, for several a other roads, which may come in when the structure is completed. It is expected to have the new depot ready for use in less than a year.

Chicago Tribune, March 15, 1881

The New Union Depot.
The new Union Depot on Canal street is expected to be ready for occupancy on April 3, or just one year from the time the first actual work upon it was commenced. The depot is to be for the service of the Chicago & Alton, the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago, the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Roads. But the two last-named roads have not yet “signed” relative to the Union Depot arrangement, so to-day there will be held a meeting of the different managers of the roads interested to complete the arrangements and to consult generally on the subject. The meeting will be attended by General Manager Potter, of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad; General Manager S. S. Merrill of tye Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul; Assistant General Manager U. E. Gorham of the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne & Chicago; General Manager D. W. Caldwell of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis, and some officer of the Chicago & Alton to represent General Manager J. C McMullin, who is South. Mr. Calswell was expected to arrive from Columbus last night.

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Lobby of the Union Depot around 1905

Chicago Tribune, July 7, 1880

The West Side Union Depot.
Good progress is being made on the West Side Union Depot, and it is expected now to have the buildings ready for use on the 1st of November. The main building, which is to contain waiting and and reception rooms, ticket offices, etc., and from which trains will arrive and depart, is already showing its fine dimensions, and rises above the second story. The work on this building is of very elaborate nature. Only stone, brick, and iron enter into its construction. The stone is very finely carved and the bricks are enameled in beautiful colors, and are so placed as to give a highly pleasing effect. Two more stories will be added to this building, and it will be surmounted by three towers,—two small ones at each end and a large one in the centre. The most striking feature of this building will be the grand entrance on Canal street, which is to be very elaborate. The dimensions of this structure are 200 feet by 60 feet and it extends from the north end of Adams street viaduct nearly to the south line of Monroe street, so that the grand entrance to the depot will be just about midway between Adams and Monroe streets.

On the north the main building is flanked by a commodious baggage and express building, 150 feet by 25 feet and three stories high. All of this building is completed with the exception of the upper floor. The walls are of pressed brick and stone. Another baggage building of the same size will flank the main building on the south end, the Adams street viaduct intervening.

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According to the original plans, the baggage houses were to have plain roofs, but it has since been decided to surmount them with mansards and small towers at each end, to harmonize them better with the main buildings. These buildings will form only a part of the Canal street front of the depot. The depot itself will be under iron arches, with a roof of iron and glass, and will extend from a point 150 feet south of Madison street to a point 240 feet north of Van Buren, and will have a width of 135 feet and a length of 1,200, but will be cut through in the centre by the Adams street viaduct. The trucks underneath the viaduct, however, will be continuous. The city has made extensive improvements on the viaduct to prevent it from jarring and vivrating, and it is to be raised nearly one foot. The cost of the depot is estimated at about $1,000,000.

Mr. R. Trinble, engineer of the Pennsylvania Company, has immediate charge of the construction, under the direction of Chief-Engineer Slatsper, of the Pennsylvania Company.

From Rand McNally’s Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893

Arriving in Chicago:
Union Passenger Station, Canal and Adams streets, serving the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Pennsylvania Lines west of Pittsburgh, the Chicago & Alton, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul. We will suppose that you sit facing toward the locomotive, that the train has stopped, and that you come from the south. You are now in the heart of Chicago, with Lake Michigan distant ten blocks on your right, or east. As you leave the doors of the station, the lake will be at your back, and the north to your right hand. Street-cars passing almost over your head will carry you, for 5 cents, either toward the lake or toward the western limits. You are now standing immediately west of the city’s business center, and from here there are five great main routes on which you may go either in search of the homes of friends or for purposes of information and pleasure. These routes are south, southwest, west, northwest, north. The city covers 178 square miles of surface, which will give you some idea how far out of the way you may go by starting wrong from this center. Ask some Chicagoan in which direction your friend’s house is. If he says north (Lincoln Park region), take the nearest car at the left as you leave the station, to Clark Street; walk one block north to Monroe and reach the north city cable lines. The fare is 5 cents on, every cable and horse-car line. If northwest (Humboldt Park region), go to the right as you leave the station, north on Canal Street to Washington, and west one block to Clinton, and board the Milwaukee Avenue cable-cars as they come out the northern river tunnel going west. If west (Garfield Park region), take horsecars at left (three miles only), or go north to the northern tunnel, and take Madison cable, which will connect with electric-cars for Desplaines River, ten miles away. If southwest (Blue Island Avenue region), go south two blocks for Blue Island Avenue cars coming out of southern tunnel; or, if Douglas Park region, go north to northern tunnel, and take Ogden Avenue car (always last on the train of cars). If south (World’s Fair and Stock Yards), go to the left, take horse-car over the bridge east, and reach the two South Side cables, one on State Street for Englewood and the Stock Yards; one on Wabash Avenue for the World’s Fair.

The station numbered ③ on our map is the one in which you stand, and the small station numbered ⑩ on the map is the Elevated, which, for 5 cents, will take you to the World’s Fair. The station numbered ⑤ on the map is the Illinois Central Suburban, which, for 10 cents, will take you to the World’s Fair. There are, therefore, four ways in which you may get to the Fair State Street cable (indirect), connecting with east and west electric and horse car lines to the Fair, Wabash Avenue cable, Elevated and Illinois Central railroads. Two blocks south of the station in which you have arrived is the new tunnel through which the Van Buren Street and Blue Island Avenue lines of cable go under the river, thus shortening the trip to the McCormick Reaper Works region. The maps will show you the names of Chicago’s parks. These will, in turn, give you the five main routes we here lay down, and it will then be easy to correct any small error of the wrong car or the wrong street, for you will be journeying always toward your true destination. Fix it substantially in your mind lhat you are alongside the South Branch of the Chicago River, going north, ten blocks west of the lake, within easy walking distance of all the great hotels, and that good hotels are numerous close by. You leave the train and pass through an iron gateway. Here you find many conveniences. To the left, or south of the great staircase that leads up to the street for you are far below grade is a parcel-room, and small baggage may be checked for 10 cents. Here are wash-room, barbershop, and a bureau of information, where all questions about hotels, cabs, bus, etc., will be answered fully. North of the wide staircase are the telegraph office, lunch-counters, and smoking-room. If you desire an excellent meal, go upstairs to the cafe, where everything is good, with fair prices, say 35 to 50 cents for a satisfactory meal. If you are going through Chicago, and must re-check baggage, you must bear in mind that the in-depot is at the north end, up on Canal Street, and the out-depot is at the south end; so, to get your trunk, always go to the south baggage-room. The main floor of the great station is given almost entirely to waiting-rooms, with ladies’ waiting rooms and lavatories. Good news-stands will be found at the north end upstairs and near the iron gates downstairs. Drawn up along Canal Street is a line of cabs, buses, coupes, and carriages. The bus fare will be 50 cents.

The cab fares will be according to a card posted in the vehicle, generally 50 cents a mile, $1 an hour, day or night. It is always wise to check your trunk on the. way into the city, by the agent who passes through the train. If you are bound for the great hotels, at $5 to $9 a day, you give yourself little thought of their location, for a busman or cabman will see to that, but if a more moderate charge is what you are seeking, then you may cross the street diagonally southwest to the Oxford; or go north one block to the Washington or Grand Central; or passing these, turn and go west to the Gault House. Across the street (Canal) are the Dowling, Golden Star (German), and Jefferson. Far north on Canal, at Randolph, is the Barnes House. On Madison, near the Gault, are the La Fayette and McEwan’s. The famous avenue hotels (Auditorium, Leland, Richelieu, Victoria, Wellington) are all in a group near the lake shore (go over the Adams Street viaduct). The Grand Pacific, Great Northern, and Palmer are all a little nearer, and the Briggs, Sherman, and Tremont are at a considerable distance north (five blocks) after you reach Clark. The Commercial (Lake and Dearborn streets) is a $2 house with a large patronage. If you do not intend to stay over night, the station offers you first-class accommodations, such as reflect the greatest credit on the city and on the railroad lines over which you have traveled. Immigrants are housed upstairs in the south end of the station, and many thousands annually are ticketed through almost like baggage, and as safely.

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Rand McNally’s Bird’s Eye Views of Chicago, 1893

At Canal and Adams streets, on the West Side, near the South Branch of the river, has a frontage of 200 feet on Canal Street. This great depot is well described in our chapter on “Arrival” (below). Architecturally it is a handsome red- brick series of three pavilions, with the larger one in the center. This part is 65 feet high, with 4 stories and basement, and cut-stone and brick exterior. The length of the train-shed is 1,000 feet, and its 8 tracks accommodate 20 passenger coaches and engines. Here 251 trains arrive and depart daily, carrying 30,000 passengers. The seating capacity of the waiting-room is 600. The station is used and occupied by the Chicago & Alton; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis; Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, and Pittsburg. Ft. Wayne & Chicago railways. Erected in 1881.

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Union Depot W. Adams and Canal streets. 1881-1925
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railway
Chicago, Mliwaukee & St. Paul Railway
Chicago & Alton Rallway
Pan Handle (Pennsylvania Co.)
Pennsylvania Co. (Pittsburgh, Ft. Wayne & Chicago Ry.)
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati. Chicago & St. Louis Railway (Pan Handle)

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The headhouse of the Union Depot, a narrow building, fronted onto Canal Street and stretched from Madison Street to Adams Street. Tracks led into the station from the south, and platforms occupied a strip of land between the back of the headhouse and the bank of the Chicago River. South of the station, Adams, Jackson, and Van Buren Streets rose over the tracks and the river on bridges.

Description of Arrival to Chicago at Union Depot in 1893:

We will suppose that you sit facing toward the locomotive, that the train has stopped, and that you come from tlie south. You are now in the heart of Chicago, with Lake Michigan distant ten blocks on your right, or east. As you leave the doors of the station, the lake will be at your back, and the north to your right hand. Street-cars passing almost over your head will carry you, for 5 cents, either toward the lake or toward the western limits.

You leave the train and pass through an iron gateway. Here you find many conveniences. To the left, or south of the great staircase that leads up to the street for you are far below grade is a parcel-room, and small baggage may be checked for 10 cents. Here are wash-room, barbershop, and a bureau of information, where all questions about hotels, cabs, bus, etc., will be answered fully. North of the wide staircase are the telegraph office, lunch-counters, and smoking-room. If you desire an excellent meal, go upstairs to the cafe, where everything is good, with fair prices, say 35 to 50 cents for a satisfactory meal. If you are going through Chicago, and must re-check baggage, you must bear in mind that the in-depot is at the north end, up on Canal Street, and the out-depot is at the south end; so, to get your trunk, always go to the south baggage-room. The main floor of the great station is given almost entirely to waiting-rooms, with ladies’ waiting rooms and lavatories. Good news stands will be found at the north end upstairs and near the iron gates downstairs.

Drawn up along Canal Street is a line of cabs, buses, coupes, and carriages. The bus fare will be 50 cents. The cab fares will be according to a card posted in the vehicle, generally 50 cents a mile, $1 an hour, day or night. It is always- wise to check your trunk on the. way into the city, by the agent who passes through the train. If you are bound for the great hotels, at $5 to $9 a day, you give yourself little thought of their location, for a busman or cabman will see to that, but if a more moderate charge is what you are seeking, then you may cross the street diagonally southwest to the Oxford; or go north one block to the Washington or Grand Central; or passing these, turn and go west to the Gault House. Across the street (Canal) are the Dowling, Golden Star (German), and Jefferson. Far north on Canal, at Randolph, is the Barnes House. On Madison, near the Gault, are the La Fayette and McEwan’s. The famous avenue hotels (Auditorium, Leland, Richelieu, Victoria, Wellington) are all in a group near the lake shore (go over the Adams Street viaduct). The Grand Pacific, Great Northern, and Palmer are all a little nearer, and the Briggs, Sherman, and Tremont are at a considerable distance north (five blocks) after you reach Clark. The Commercial (Lake and Dearborn streets) is a $2 house with a large patronage. If you do not intend to stay over night, the station offers you first-class accommodations, such as reflect the greatest credit on the city and on the railroad lines over which you have traveled. Immigrants are housed upstairs in the south end of the station, and many thousands annually are ticketed through almost like baggage, and as safely.

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Union Depot, 1905

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Chicago Post Office

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The map depicts the early heart of the CB&Q, from northern Illinois through southern Iowa and northern Missouri, with Chicago at the center of the map. The inset shows the “short route to California,” via the CB&Q, Hannibal & St. Joseph, and Kansas Pacific railroads. Although the CB&Q was not a transcontinental railroad and did not really aspire to become one, it still held a strategic position as a link between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Comments

Al Donnelly says

January 31, 2019 at 2:23 pm

In 1898, this would have served as the eastern terminus for the Pacific Coast Limited running C&A-Iron Mountain Route-Texas&Pacific-Southern Pacific to Los Angeles, with sleepers to San Francisco carried on another train. Pullman Palace Car Company built five special train sets (25 cars) for this elaborate attempt at a “true southern route” to the west coast. In the spring of ’98 the train departures were reduced to once-a-week from two. For the 1899 season, the train was withdrawn for reasons unknown (possibly problems over the Texas line). Interior renderings of some of the cars have now surfaced on-line, but a known special booklet distributed to agents and available to travellers (mailed upon request) has yet to surface. Photos of the train are not documented, but could exist. The Golden State into LaSalle over Rock Island would fill this alternate route need within a few more years.

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