
Dearborn Station (also called Polk Street Depot) was, beginning in the late 1800s, one of six
intercity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...
train station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...
s serving downtown
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. It remained in operation until May 1, 1971. Built in 1883, it is located at Dearborn and Polk Streets, to the south of
the Loop, adjacent to
Printers Row. The station was owned by the
Chicago & Western Indiana Railroad, which itself was owned by the companies operating over its line. The station building headhouse now houses office, retail, and entertainment spaces, and its trackage yard, behind the headhouse, was redeveloped into part of the
Dearborn Park
Dearborn Park is a residential Chicago neighborhood located in the Chicago Loop, Loop and Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side Community areas of Chicago, community areas of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United Sta ...
neighborhood.
Description and history

The
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...
structure, designed by
Cyrus L. W. Eidlitz
Cyrus Lazelle Warner Eidlitz (July 27, 1853 – October 5, 1921) was an American architect best known for designing One Times Square in New York City. Educated in Germany, he was also founder of the architecture firm of Eidlitz and McKenzie, p ...
, opened in 1885 at a cost of $400 to $500 thousand (equivalent to $ to $ million in ). The three-story building's exterior walls and twelve-story
clock tower
Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...
were composed of pink granite and red pressed brick topped by a number of steeply-pitched roofs. Modifications to the structure following a fire in 1922 included eliminating the original pitched roof profile. Behind the
head house
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...
were the train
platforms, shielded by a large
train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
.
Inside the station were
ticket
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...
counters, waiting rooms, and
Fred Harvey Company
The Fred Harvey Company was the owner of the Harvey House chain of restaurants, hotels and other hospitality industry businesses alongside railroads in the Western United States. It was founded in 1876 by Fred Harvey (entrepreneur), Fred Harve ...
restaurants.
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
(the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) chose to consolidate its Chicago operations at the
Union Station
A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...
. The final intercity passenger train to depart Dearborn Station was the
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...
's ''
International Limited
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
'', which departed on April 30, 1971. The arrival of the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...
's ''
San Francisco Chief
The ''San Francisco Chief'' was a streamlined passenger train on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. It ran from 1954 until 1971. The ''San Francisco Chief'' was the last new str ...
'' and ''
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a mile ().
The canyon and adjacent rim are contained within Grand Canyon Nati ...
'' from
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
on May 2 brought intercity operations at Dearborn to a close. The
Norfolk & Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
's
Orland Park
Orland Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, with a small portion in Will County. It is a suburb of Chicago. Per the 2020 census, Orland Park had a population of 58,703. Located 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Chicago, Or ...
commuter service, the ''
Orland Park Cannonball'', continued to use a platform at Dearborn until 1976.
By 1976, Dearborn Station's
train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
was demolished and tracks were removed; the
head house
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...
building was retained. The train station stood abandoned into the mid-1980s when it was converted to retail and office space. The former
rail yard
A rail yard, railway yard, railroad yard (US) or simply yard, is a series of Track (rail transport), tracks in a rail network for storing, sorting, or loading and unloading rail vehicles and locomotives. Yards have many tracks in parallel for k ...
s were converted for use as
Dearborn Park
Dearborn Park is a residential Chicago neighborhood located in the Chicago Loop, Loop and Near South Side, Chicago, Near South Side Community areas of Chicago, community areas of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United Sta ...
.
Services
Some of the railroads that served the station include the following, with some of the more well-known name trains listed:
*
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight transport; at vario ...
(Santa Fe) – the ''
Chief
Chief may refer to:
Title or rank
Military and law enforcement
* Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force
* Chief of police, the head of a police department
* Chief of the boat ...
'', ''
Super Chief
The ''Super Chief'' was one of the List of named passenger trains, named train, passenger trains and the flagship of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. The then-modern streamliner was touted in its heyday as "The Train of the Stars" b ...
'', ''
El Capitan
El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...
'', and ''
Grand Canyon Limited
The ''Grand Canyon Limited'' was one of the named passenger trains of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. It was train Nos. 23 & 24 between Chicago, Illinois, and Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1901 the Santa Fe Railroad complete ...
'' (to name but a few) to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
,
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
; the ''
Texas Chief
The ''Texas Chief'' was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the ' ...
'' to
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
/
Houston
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
,
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
; the ''
Antelope
The term antelope refers to numerous extant or recently extinct species of the ruminant artiodactyl family Bovidae that are indigenous to most of Africa, India, the Middle East, Central Asia, and a small area of Eastern Europe. Antelopes do ...
'' to
Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
,
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
; the ''
Kansas Cityan
The ''Chicagoan'' and ''Kansas Cityan'' were a pair of American named passenger trains operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. They ran between Chicago, Illinois and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The trains were introduced as a Chicago� ...
'' (and its eastbound counterpart, the ''
Chicagoan
The demographics of Chicago show that it is a very large, and Multiculturalism, ethnically and culturally diverse metropolis. It is the List of United States cities by population, third largest city and List of United States metropolitan areas, ...
'') to
Kansas City
The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
,
Missouri
Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
; and the ''
San Francisco Chief
The ''San Francisco Chief'' was a streamlined passenger train on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway ("Santa Fe") between Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. It ran from 1954 until 1971. The ''San Francisco Chief'' was the last new str ...
'' to
San Francisco
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
, California. Although the Santa Fe by far operated the greatest number of trains from the station, it was only a tenant.
*
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis Potter Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Rich ...
(moved to the
Grand Central Station
Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...
February 28, 1925).
*
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Illinois, Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, and Evansville, Indiana, Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and staye ...
– ''
Cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to
* Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae
***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...
'', ''Zipper'' and ''Silent Knight'' to
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
, Missouri; ''
Dixie Flyer'', and ''
Dixie Flagler
The ''Dixie Flagler'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the ''Henry M. Flagler'', a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, ...
'' and ''
Georgian'' to
Evansville
Evansville is a city in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 118,414 at the 2020 census, it is Indiana's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the most populous city in S ...
, continuing to
Nashville
Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
, then
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
, and finally
Miami
Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
(The ''Georgian'' ending at Atlanta). From July 31, 1904 to August 1, 1913, Chicago & Eastern Illinois trains used
LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 South LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago. First used as a rail terminal in 1852, it was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968, and for the Chicago ...
.
*
Chicago, Indianapolis and Louisville Railway
The Monon Railroad , also known as the Chicago, Indianapolis, and Louisville Railway from 1897 to 1971, was an American railroad that operated almost entirely within the state of Indiana. The Monon was merged into the Louisville and Nashville R ...
(Monon) – ''Hoosier'' and ''Tippecanoe'' to
Indianapolis
Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
, ''
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
'' to
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
.
*
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Northeastern United States, originally connecting Pavonia Terminal in Jersey City, New Jersey, with Lake Erie at Dunkirk, New York. The railroad expanded west to Chicago following its 1865 ...
(
Erie Lackawanna Railway
The Erie Lackawanna Railway , known as the Erie Lackawanna Railroad until 1968, was formed from the 1960 merger of the Erie Railroad and the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad. The official motto of the line was "The Friendly Service Route ...
from 1960) – ''
Atlantic Express and Pacific Express
The ''Atlantic Express'' and ''Pacific Express'' were a pair of Erie Railroad passenger trains which together provided round-trip service between the New York City area and Chicago, Illinois. They were the Erie's oldest named passenger trains, ha ...
'', ''
Erie Limited
The ''Erie Limited'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Erie Railroad between Jersey City, New Jersey (for New York City) and Chicago, Illinois via the Southern Tier. It operated from 1929 to 1963. After the merger of the Erie and t ...
'', ''
Phoebe Snow
Phoebe Snow (born Phoebe Ann Laub; July 17, 1950 – April 26, 2011) was an American roots music singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for her hit 1974 and 1975 songs "Poetry Man" and "Harpo's Blues", and her credited guest vocals on Paul Simo ...
'' and ''
Lake Cities'' to
Hoboken
Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...
, or
Jersey City
Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous ,
New Jersey
New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
.
*
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...
– ''
Maple Leaf
The maple leaf is the characteristic leaf of the maple tree. It is most widely recognized as the national symbols of Canada, national symbol of Canada.
History of use in Canada
By the early 1700s, the maple leaf had been adopted as an emblem by ...
'', ''Inter-City Limited'' and ''
International Limited
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
'' to
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
and
Montreal
Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec
Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
. ''Mohawk'' to
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
,
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
.
*
Wabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...
(
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
from 1964) – ''
Blue Bird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
Bluebirds lay an ...
'' and ''Banner Blue'' to St. Louis, Missouri.
The following
commuter rail
Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...
services also operated from the station:
*
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad
The Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Illinois, Chicago to southern Illinois, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis, and Evansville, Indiana, Evansville. Founded in 1877, it grew aggressively and staye ...
(until 1935) – operated from Dearborn Station to
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
, Illinois.
Metra
Metra is the primary commuter rail system in the Chicago metropolitan area serving the city of Chicago and its surrounding suburbs via the Union Pacific Railroad, BNSF Railway, and other railroads. The system operates 243 train station, stati ...
has proposed to revive the route as its
SouthEast Service
The SouthEast Service is a proposed commuter rail line to be operated by Metra, the commuter railroad service for the Chicago metropolitan area. The route of the proposed line would use tracks owned by CSX Transportation and the Union Pacific Rail ...
.
*
Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
The Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad was the owner of Dearborn Station in Chicago and the trackage leading to it. It was owned equally by five of the railroads using it to reach the terminal, and kept those companies from needing their ow ...
(until 1964) – operated between Dearborn Station and
Dolton, Illinois serving mostly local stops within Chicago's far south side.
*
Chicago and Erie Railroad – operated from Dearborn Station to
Rochester, Indiana.
*
Grand Trunk Western Railroad
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...
(until 1935) – operated from Dearborn Station to
Valparaiso, Indiana (later service was cut-back to
Harvey, Illinois).
*
Wabash Railroad
The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...
(
Norfolk and Western Railway
The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisio ...
from 1964) – used a track west of the station until 1976, when moved to the Union Station); now Metra's
SouthWest Service
The SouthWest Service (SWS) is a Metra commuter rail line, running southwest from Union Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois, to Manhattan, Illinois. Metra does not refer to its lines by color, but the timetable accents for the SouthWest Servi ...
.
*
Santa Fe Railway
The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest Railroad classes, Class 1 railroads in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in intermodal freight tra ...
(until 1903) – operated from Dearborn Station to
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...
.
In popular culture
In
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
musician
Henry Thomas
Henry Jackson Thomas (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had the lead role of Elliott Taylor in the film '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and rece ...
' 1927 song "Railroadin' Some", the "Polk Street Depot" is the next to last stop on a journey that begins in
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...
, and ends in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
.
Dearborn Station is mentioned multiple times in the 1974 "
Adam's Ribs" episode of ''
M*A*S*H
''M*A*S*H'' (an acronym for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) is an American media franchise consisting of a series of novels, a film, several television series, plays, and other properties, and based on the semi-autobiographical fiction of Richa ...
'', in which
Hawkeye Pierce
This is a list of characters from the ''M*A*S*H'' franchise created by Richard Hooker, covering the various fictional characters appearing in the novel '' MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors'' (1968) and its sequels '' M*A*S*H Goes to Main ...
craves the barbecued ribs from a fictional restaurant adjacent to the station, but can't recall the name. He calls the
station master
The station master (or stationmaster) is the person in charge of a Train station, railway station, particularly in the United Kingdom and many other countries outside North America. In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, it is now lar ...
from
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
to get the restaurant's name and phone number. Hawkeye refers to the terminal as the "Dearborn Street Station".
"Dearborn Station" is a song by the
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fate
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
that was released in 1985.
Photo Gallery
File:Dearborn Station west.jpg, The north (frontal) and west side
File:Dearborn Station east.jpg, The east side
File:Dearborn Station rear.jpg, The south (rear) side
File:Dearborn Station inside.jpg, Inside the building
File:1976 Dearborn Station.jpg, The station's train shed
A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...
being demolished in May 1976; the "head house
A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station.
Markets
In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...
" can be seen at the rear
File:Dearborn Station former tracks.jpg, A city park, Dearborn Park, and townhouses now occupy the former platform and trackage area
See also
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Architecture of Chicago
The buildings and architecture of Chicago reflect the city's history and multicultural heritage, featuring prominent buildings in a variety of styles. Most structures downtown were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871 (an exception being t ...
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Printer's Row, Chicago
Printers Row, also known as Printing House Row, is a Neighborhoods in Chicago, neighborhood located in the south of the Chicago downtown area known as the Chicago Loop#Printers Row, Loop. The heart of Printers Row is generally defined by Ida B. ...
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South Loop
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Chicago Union Station
Chicago Union Station is an Inter-city rail, intercity and commuter rail terminal station, terminal located in the West Loop neighborhood of the Near West Side, Chicago, Near West Side of Chicago. Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest, Uni ...
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Central Station (Chicago terminal)
Central Station was an intercity rail, intercity Train station, passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the southern end of Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park near Roosevelt Road (Chicago), Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue (Chicag ...
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Great Central Station
Great Central Station, also known as Great Central Depot, was an intercity train station in Chicago, Illinois, owned by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). It opened in 1856 and for a time was the largest building in downtown Chicago. Its pass ...
References
External links
Dearborn Street Station (Fred Harvey Exhibit)*
(Require
plugin)
1885 Railroad Chronology
{{Erie Main Line stations
Former railway stations in Illinois
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago
Railway stations in Chicago
Chicago Landmarks
Historic American Engineering Record in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Former Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad stations
Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
Clock towers in Illinois
Romanesque Revival architecture in Illinois
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1885
1885 establishments in Illinois
Railway stations in the United States closed in 1976