Chicago Union Station
May 7, 2021 08:11:11 #
Chicago Union Station is Amtrak's flagship station in the Midwest and is located on the west-side of Chicago's downtown Loop area. While serving long-distance Amtrak passenger trains, the station is also the downtown terminus for six Metra commuter lines.
Union Station by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The present Chicago Union Station opened in 1925, replacing an earlier station on this site built in 1881. The station is the fourth-busiest rail terminal in the United States, and the busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor.
Union Station
Union Station is one of Chicago's iconic structures, reflecting the city's strong architectural heritage and historic achievements. The station has Bedford limestone Beaux-Arts facades, massive Corinthian columns, marble floors, and a Great Hall, all highlighted by brass lamps.
Union Station
At the building's center is the Great Hall, a 110-foot high atrium capped by a large barrel-vaulted skylight. The $22 million dollar restoration of this space was completed in 2019, restoring the Great Hall to its original colors and making the space brighter with a restored and protected skylight.
Union Station
Large wooden benches are arranged in the Great Hall for travelers to wait for connections. The 2018–19 renovation rebuilt the historic skylight, adding weather protection and restoring original detailing. The restoration increased natural light by 50 to 60 percent.
Union Station
Two statues — Night and Day — look down on passengers, symbolizing the 24-hour operation of the railroads. The statue Night holds an owl, while Day holds a rooster.
Union Station
The station has appeared in numerous films, including The Sting (1973), Silver Streak (1976), On the Right Track (1981), Doctor Detroit (1983), The Untouchables (1987), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Public Enemies (2009), and Man of Steel (2013).
Union Station
The Great Hall's columns are of textured Roman travertine marble, with leafy golden Corinthian capitals. The ceilings and insets are coffered, with decorative rosettes.
Union Station
Chicago Union Station is named a union station, like many train stations across the United States that were shared by several railroad companies.
Union Station
The images in this post feature three different types of expired film. The color images come from Fuji Press 800 (expired Sept 2003) and Fuji Superia X-tra 400 (expired Sept 2003), and B&W from Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired Jan 2014). Adjustments were made to the ISO setting when each roll was loaded to an EOS 1v. Details on the exposure and lenses are provided in the EXIF data from Flickr, just use the image titles as URL links to Flickr. The scanned JPEGs were processed in Adobe Lightroom v6.
Union Station by Paul Sager, on Flickr
The present Chicago Union Station opened in 1925, replacing an earlier station on this site built in 1881. The station is the fourth-busiest rail terminal in the United States, and the busiest outside of the Northeast Corridor.
Union Station
Union Station is one of Chicago's iconic structures, reflecting the city's strong architectural heritage and historic achievements. The station has Bedford limestone Beaux-Arts facades, massive Corinthian columns, marble floors, and a Great Hall, all highlighted by brass lamps.
Union Station
At the building's center is the Great Hall, a 110-foot high atrium capped by a large barrel-vaulted skylight. The $22 million dollar restoration of this space was completed in 2019, restoring the Great Hall to its original colors and making the space brighter with a restored and protected skylight.
Union Station
Large wooden benches are arranged in the Great Hall for travelers to wait for connections. The 2018–19 renovation rebuilt the historic skylight, adding weather protection and restoring original detailing. The restoration increased natural light by 50 to 60 percent.
Union Station
Two statues — Night and Day — look down on passengers, symbolizing the 24-hour operation of the railroads. The statue Night holds an owl, while Day holds a rooster.
Union Station
The station has appeared in numerous films, including The Sting (1973), Silver Streak (1976), On the Right Track (1981), Doctor Detroit (1983), The Untouchables (1987), My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), Flags of Our Fathers (2006), Public Enemies (2009), and Man of Steel (2013).
Union Station
The Great Hall's columns are of textured Roman travertine marble, with leafy golden Corinthian capitals. The ceilings and insets are coffered, with decorative rosettes.
Union Station
Chicago Union Station is named a union station, like many train stations across the United States that were shared by several railroad companies.
Union Station
The images in this post feature three different types of expired film. The color images come from Fuji Press 800 (expired Sept 2003) and Fuji Superia X-tra 400 (expired Sept 2003), and B&W from Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired Jan 2014). Adjustments were made to the ISO setting when each roll was loaded to an EOS 1v. Details on the exposure and lenses are provided in the EXIF data from Flickr, just use the image titles as URL links to Flickr. The scanned JPEGs were processed in Adobe Lightroom v6.
May 7, 2021 08:12:40 #
May 7, 2021 08:20:26 #
May 7, 2021 08:22:59 #
The grandeur reminds me of Union Station in DC. Excellent series of quality photos.
May 7, 2021 08:29:12 #
I particularly like the photos of the traditional stonework. Your photographs nicely capture this aspect of the train station.
May 7, 2021 08:31:38 #
May 7, 2021 08:39:18 #
Cwilson341 wrote:
The grandeur reminds me of Union Station in DC. Excellent series of quality photos.
Thank you Carol! I have some images of the DC station, I noticed them again just yesterday as that section passed on my digital frame. Also, some work from Cincinnati's Union Terminal. Glad you enjoyed.
May 7, 2021 08:39:27 #
Thank you John, Tomfl101, Carol, anotherview, greenwork! I knew the station was pretty neat on the inside, but it wasn't until reading for comments around the images that I learned of the recent completion of the renovations. It took a few different trips with different lenses to capture some of these different views. Glad you enjoyed.
May 7, 2021 08:46:32 #
Guy A.
Loc: Concord, Ohio
Thank you for the layout of CHI's Union Station. This was quite a refurbishment effort.
Chicago is a wonderful town, as Frank Sinatra says in his music.
TNX, again
Chicago is a wonderful town, as Frank Sinatra says in his music.
TNX, again
May 7, 2021 08:47:46 #
May 7, 2021 09:21:58 #
Thank you Guy, newsguygeorge! I can think of only once taking a train in / out of Union Station. The Metra terminal across the street is my more frequent terminal in Chicago. Chicago Union Station has been more for photography for me.
May 7, 2021 12:03:59 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Chicago Union Station is Amtrak's flagship station... (show quote)
Paul,
Superb series. Each image is unique. Thanks for sharing.Love how you mixed Black and White and Color.
Have not been to Union Station since the Pandemic.Stan
May 7, 2021 15:24:56 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Chicago Union Station is Amtrak's flagship station... (show quote)
Lived here 67 years and have never seen it🤔 Thanks for sharing your speçtacular shots🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅
May 8, 2021 05:33:15 #
I used to come into the station on a commuter train from LaGrange/Brookfield at least five days a week for school for several years. It always struck me as awesome, especially the marble steps that had been traveled and were worn down from footsteps. Thanks Paul!
May 8, 2021 07:06:40 #
CHG_CANON wrote:
Chicago Union Station is Amtrak's flagship station... (show quote)
Paul what a wonderful series on Union Station, brings back memories of past visits and always learn something from your commentary.
Thanks for the share,
Jim
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