![]() Add scores of shops, dozens of dining options, a gourmet marketplace, one very fancy bar and, yes, tennis courts, and it's probably bigger than your local suburban mall. In all, there are 44 platforms for 67 tracks, along which 700 trains run in and out daily. The beaux-arts landmark serves the Metro-North commuter line to upstate New York and Connecticut as well as the MTA subway system in the City (bus stops are right outside, and Long Island Rail Road service is on the way, too, if still five to seven years from completion). Patrick's Cathedral is a church or Central Park is a park-its appeal goes way beyond its stated purpose. In comparison the terminal saw just 10% of Central Station's (owned by Illinois Central) daily trains and was well behind fifth-busiest Dearborn Station's 146 trains-per-day.Grand Central Terminal is a destination, not a pit stop. While the station was architecturally beautiful, with only one major railroad serving the building (the Soo and Chicago Great Western were both regional, Midwestern systems) it was never as busy as the five other major terminals serving the Chicago.ĭuring peak operations from its opening through the 1920s (and later during World War II) the station averaged just 38 trains per day with just under 4,000 daily passengers. The eastern trunk line made the station uniquely its own by later adding a neon-lit "B&O" sign in the bell tower, providing for a beautiful photographic setting of trains awaiting departure just outside the train shed with the sign glowing brightly in the background.Īdditionally, the trackage the railroad gained from the transaction became another part of its Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad. Unfortunately for the Northern Pacific, the Financial Panic of 1893 forced the railroad into bankruptcy which ended its dreams of a direct route into Chicago.ĭespite attempts to hold onto to its Chicago area properties, alas Grand Central Station was sold at foreclosure to the B&O in 1910. Despite the general materials used it was still a lavish terminal, featuring arches and exterior columns that almost gave it a castle-like look. Beman, which built the terminal in the Norman Castellated style.īemen constructed the building using brownstone and granite although the exterior primarily consisted of red brick. Grand Central Station was designed by architect Solon S. Over its own rails all of the way into the Windy City. Such, it would not only have provided the railroad with more efficientįreight operations but also allowed the NP to move passengers trains The NP had plans to reach Chicago directly, given the city's importanceĪnd wanted a new station to showcase its entrance into the region. ![]() Located along Harrison Street in the city's Southside. The history of Chicago's Grand Central Station (not be confused with the New York Central's original Grand Central Station in New York City) dates back to October of 1889.Īt this time the Chicago & Northern Pacific Railroad, then a subsidiary of the Wisconsin Central (itself owned by the Northern Pacific Railway) began construction of a new passenger terminal Of constant development and a population of nearly 3 million, since theīuilding's destruction more than 40 years ago the land on which it was The terminal never reached its full potential and saddest of Owners had lavish plans for the facility until bankruptcy ended such Grand Central was built in the late 19th century and its original Ohio Railroad it nevertheless became the eastern trunk line's link toĬhicago and one its most prominent stations (from a public standpoint). While it was not constructed by the Baltimore & ![]() Railroads (just a handful served the terminal)Īlthough its impressive interior and exterior architecture overshadows Station was the smallest such facility in the city, used by the fewest ![]() Chicago's Grand Central Station is one of the city's great railroad terminals, despite the fact that it is sometimes forgottenĭue to the fact that it was destroyed before Amtrak even began.
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