Chicago Union Station, Sunday, 9:34am

The nation's most beautiful train station, bar none. And that includes Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York and L.A. And to think Chicago used to have seven downtown train stations: Grand Central, North Western, Dearborn, LaSalle St., Illinois Central 12th St., Illinois Central Randolph St. commuter, and this one.

Union Station's concourse, facing along the Chicago River, was torn down in the late 60's, but the cavernous main building, with its classical waiting room, remains, waiting for the day when high-speed trains flash from Chicago to every large midwestern city.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Chicago
• downtown
• Loop
• Union
• Station
• train
• trains
• rail
• railroad
• railroads
• waiting
• room
• bench
• Roman
• Greek
• column
• columns
• skylight
• entrance
• stairs
• stairway
• exit
• Jackson
• Blvd.
• Clinton
• Canal
• Adams

[ChicagoJoe57]

The best photography of Union Station I have seen on youtube.

[artistmac]

@ChicagoJoe57 Thanks. This is truly the last of Chicago's great railroad stations that is still being used for its original purpose.

[KALEIDOSCOPEN]

they poisoned their tuna sandwiches

[walwaad]

I think that Michigan Central Station in Detroit is the grandest of them all!

[retroguy1976]

loooks nice and clean way better than penn station in nyc

[lcar4000]

It's empty here because it's early on a weekend morning....the Amtrak passengers are probably sequestered in the special waiting room and few commuter trains are running this day.

[PINKluvr01]

looks so vintage

[milky27oreo]

Washington D.C., Grand Central Terminal, New Haven Union Station, and Chicago Union Station. my favorites.

[evantis121]

its a crying shame the grat american passenger rail network was allowed to wither and die. To see this great station so empty and under used is shocking. Hopefully Obama's HSR stimilus money will bring more rail passengers so that this fine building will be a hive of activity again.

[ChicagoJoe57]

it is my favorite train station. My second favorite is Grand Central. You know, I have been in both Union Station and Penn Station NY at rush hour and both are so jammed I cannot even guess who has more passengers. Both NYC and Chicago are railroad towns. One fact: Penn Station cannot accept double decker trains like Union Station. The tunnels under the Hudson and East Rivers are not high enough. LIRR double decker trains stop in Woodside Queens because that is the farthes they can travel.