Central Station was an intercity passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the southern end of Grant Park near Twelfth Street (Roosevelt Road, today) and Michigan Avenue. The Romanesque Revival structure, designed by Bradford L. Gilbert, was built and owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. The project boasted of having the "largest train shed in the world," at over 85,000 square feet.
Illinois Central Depot, Chicago. circa 1901 |
Illinois Central Station. circa 1893 |
View of the Central Station and Illinois Central offices from Michigan Boulevard. Postcard circa 1911. |
Central Station is a Chicago neighborhood within the Near South Side community of Chicago.
Adjoining platforms served the suburban trains of the Illinois Central, electrified in 1926 (now called the Metra Electric Line), and the South Shore Line interurban railroad. Both lines continued north to Randolph Street.
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
Central Station in February 1971 |
The front of Central Station shows the large Illinois Central sign. Note the Magikist sign on the far left (from the mid-1940s). |
The rear of Central Station in February 1971, showing the large Illinois Central sign. |
Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.
My dad, Wilmer Thomson; my step-dad, JJ Killian were both switchmen for the IC (Markham Yards) and my mother Frances (Thomson) Killian was a telephone operator.
ReplyDeleteIn 1946, I worked on a farm in Southern Illinois. On my return trip, I transferred from what they call a milk train to the "City of New Orleans" in Carbondale, and arrived back in Chicago in this station.
ReplyDeleteThere was a shortage of farm help during and right after WW2, and I volunteered. Age 14. A great experience.