Dearborn Station is an old Chicago train station located on the corner of Dearborn Street and Polk in Chicago’s Printers Row neighborhood and borders the South Loop area. Dearborn Station is the oldest of the six early commuter train stations in downtown Chicago.
Dearborn Station opened on May 8, 1885. It was designed by New York architect Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz and built by J.T. Alton in the Romanesque Revival style. It has a 12 story clock tower that can be seen from many blocks away. It cost nearly $500,000 to complete. It featured a classic Harvey House Restaurant, and ornate interior.It was the main facility for the Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad and provided service for the Chicago, Danville and Vincennes Railroad; the Wabash, St. Louis & Pacific Railroad Company and the Grand Trunk Junction Railroad. By the turn of the century there were 25 railroads consisting of approximately 122 trains and 17,000 passengers that went through the station on a daily basis. Santa Fe’s most famous trains could be seen passing through the station. Trains such as the Super Chief, El Capitan, Zipper, Silent Night and Wabash Banner Blue and Blue Bird.
From 1920 through 1949 Santa Fe ran trains from Dearborn Station to Southern California, so a lot of Hollywood stars, such as Clark Gable and Judy Garland passed through the station. Dearborn Station closed May 1, 1971 when services were taken over by Union Station. In 1976 the tracks were removed and the trainshed was demolished. The station has been restored and now houses office and retail space.
I first became familiar with Dearborn Station when I walked around the Printers Row neighborhood during lunchtime and then joined a Curves fitness center that was previously located there. Today Dearborn Station contains a restaurant, a bank, a wellness center, legal offices, mail services, jazz club and a medical facility. It’s a beautiful building in a beautiful neighborhood – definitely worth checking out!
I hadn’t thought about Dearborn Station in a while. We always see it when we go to the Printer’s Row book fair. This time we might look inside and eat lunch.
I think there is a yarn store there also.
Sounds good! I’d love to check it out. I used to go to Curves there regularly and to get the Printers Row local newspaper (both are gone now).
Excellent job in my opinion of reusing infrastructure, in this case repurposing an old station for new office space. Certainly it is a much nicer alternative than tearing it down and adding another bland office building! Nice post.
Thanks! This is one of my favorite places to visit. It’s near downtown, but has more of a neighborhood vibe. It’s so unique.