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 - expired film


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 - expired film


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 - expired film


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 - expired film


The images in this post feature two different types of expired color 35mm film: Fuji Press 800 (expired May 2004) and Fuji Superia X-tra 400 (expired Sept 2003). 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.