Union Station - Chicago

I love railroads, trains, even model trains... I think that has been abundantly clear to those who follow this blog. But really, what I find fascinating is any and all engineering which is also classified as art with character not just function. I love any engineering design which exudes so much character and details that it is an inspiring work of art. This includes trains, boats, aircraft, cars, homes, cottages, lodges, bridges, cityscapes, urban buildings... as well as old train stations.

On our way to San Antonio, we had a layover at Chicago's beautiful Union Station (as well as an unscheduled overnight layover on the return trip). I captured many photos of the station and, I must say, some of these photos are as beautiful as this historic station so I felt I should share them here with my thoughts about the station.

This huge train station in its current design opened in 1925... ninety years ago. In a time when many railroads are being dismantled, destroyed and sent to the salvage yards to be converted to flat trails while hastily tossing away historic right-of-ways, it is truly amazing to see such a large and historic train station still in operation. I've been to New York's Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal, Washington DC's Union Station, and Philadelphia's 30th Street Station, all beautiful historic stations in their own right, but this was my first visit to Chicago's historic station.

In the Beaux-Arts style, a style shared with Grand Central Terminal in New York and Washington DC's Union Station, this sprawling Chicago landmark has a beautiful, grand and picturesque great hall. The great hall of Chicago's Union Station is adorned with Tennessee pink marble floors (a pale, almost-white pink marble) and marble staircases, 18 towering Corinthian columns, polished brass lighting fixtures, terracotta walls, and a five-story-tall barrel vaulted ceiling. Because of its glass barrel ceiling and impressive lighting, it is a bright and truly stunning great hall!

The Beaux-Arts style of architecture is based upon French Parisian architecture and was a grand type of architecture in the US in the late 1800's to the early 1900's. This style is derived from a French fine arts style which possesses distinct characteristics from Roman and Greek architecture such as elaborate details, grand design and large scale masonry. 

As one who has studied civil engineering and continues to study and appreciate architecture, I suppose one of the things I find interesting about this type of architecture is it is a combination of classical designs which is something I tend to do in my own designs. Chicago's Union Station combines the classical styles of French, Greek and Roman architecture. Making it even more interesting for me is the ornate detailing in masonry, lighting and even finishes which gives this Beaux-Arts style a special architectural character which was often lacking in late twentieth century design. 

Beautiful polished marble floors
and towering Corinthian columns.

As I mentioned above, this historic station which is standing and operating today was opened in 1925. This beautiful station handles approximately 120,000 passengers on any given weekday. The only stations in the US busier than this grand downtown station are the two iconic stations of New York City... Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station. In contrast, my own town's historic railroad station only sees approximately 20 or so passengers a day... quite a stark contrast! 

As beautiful as Union Station in Chicago is, I would be remiss if I didn't express my disappointment with a couple of areas of the station. 

First, we entered the station as most passengers do... on a train. The platforms and the entire area of this lower level track concourse was dark, dingy, downright dirty and in desperate need of some character and brightening. Europe knows how to do this right... Japan knows how to do this right... even China knows how to do this right. For some reason, unfortunately, train stations in the US are very disappointing to the point of being an embarrassment. As we disembarked our train in Chicago, I felt like we stepped off our train and into the filthy, oily, stench-soaked bowels of an old cargo ship. Even locomotive maintenance facilities are immensely cleaner and brighter than this! There simply is no justifiable reason for this and, consequently, I find this very disappointing for such a beautiful and historic station. It is a crime that this is what almost all passengers first see as they enter this otherwise beautiful train station. First impressions are powerful and anyone in design understands this. In this respect, sadly, most US railroad passenger facilities are an embarrassment.

Closeup detail of one of the brass
lamps in the Great Hall.

Upon entering Amtrak's First Class Lounge in the station, I was hit with some very conflicting feelings about this drastic change in environments. As we made our way through the station to the First Class Lounge, we went from polished marble floors, polish brass fixtures and opulence to a mish-mash of tacky, worn-out design elements.

Amtrak's First Class Lounge front desk is quite nice. There is even a nice warm wood wall reminiscent of antique railroad passenger cars greeting passengers as they approach the front desk... all very nice. Unfortunately, the beauty of this front desk area is lost because the flow of traffic is poorly designed here causing unnecessary bottlenecks which can be fixed fairly easily. When you venture past this clean and warm front desk, however, you can't help but immediately notice the worn and dirty carpet, tired and worn chairs with uneven springs almost poking through the upholstery, generic commercial drop ceiling, and overall dingy feeling. The style of this First Class Lounge did not match the style of the beautiful station nor would I call it "first class". This is not what we expected in a First Class Lounge and especially in a station known for grandeur and opulence. This lounge is in need of some updates.  

Overall, even considering my bit of disappointment with these two areas of the station, this is a very beautiful station with a rich history... a railroad history, an architectural history, and even a cultural history. It was wonderful to have the time to walk around this station at our leisure experiencing almost 100 years of history while capturing the station in photographs. It was also wonderful to be able to sit at a small bar adjacent to the great hall to have a few drinks as we waited for our connecting train!

Travel by train evokes warm feelings of history, romance, character... Union Station in Chicago continues to evoke these feelings and emotions. 

Have I mentioned that I love trains and train travel?

Amtrak's First Class Lounge... it may be hard to tell here but the carpet is quite worn and dirty,
the ceiling is a standard cheapo drop ceiling and the chairs were worn and lumpy... although
this lounge is far better than trying to get comfortable on the wood benches in the Great Hall,
this First Class Lounge really could use some cleaning up and updates.

Amtrak's First Class Lounge

This is what we were welcomed to when we arrived at Union Station... quite dark, dirty,
dingy, sort of dungeon-like... this could use some major upgrades!

Just as in the first photo on this page, I love the reflection of Old Glory,
but this shot also includes Sheila, Sue and Will in it.

Sheila's dad, Will, shot this photo of me on the balcony of the great hall. 
I rarely get to see myself in photos so I thought I should add this one here.