A behind-the-scenes tour of Union
Station; Amtrak's Derrick James (left) opens the doors for Rail Rangers
Kandace Tabern (center) and APRHF President Bob Cox (right) (Photo by Robert Tabern)
Very few rail fans have gotten the
opportunity to visit the secret unused underground tunnels below the
station, complete with a decaying roof
(Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Checked baggage is handled in this area, located in the basement of Chicago Union Station, again, rarely seen by passengers (Photo by Robert Tabern)
On Saturday, May 9th, 2015,
during the Amtrak Train Days celebration that took place at Chicago's
Union Station, Amtrak decided to offer an exclusive "Hard Hat Tour" of
the historic station. This allowed rail fans a one-time only access to
visit areas that are usually completely off-limits to the general
public (and even some employees!). Despite the hefty price tag of
$75.00 per ticket, the three tours sold out in a matter of minutes.
Three additional tours were added the weekend of Amtrak Train Days, and
again, these sold out in just minutes, too. Due to volunteering the
entire day at one of the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation
(APRHF) booths at Amtrak Train Days, we, and several others, were
unable to go on one of the scheduled "Hard Hat Tours". When Derrick
James, one of Amtrak's Senior Manager of Government Affairs, heard that
our small group of Train Days volunteers were interested in the tour,
but were unable to go due to our commitment of staffing the APRHF
booth, he contacted us and arranged for a special "Hard Hard Tour" that
he would personally conduct himself on Saturday, August 22nd, 2015.
Those who turned out for our tour included us, APRHF President Bob Cox
(and his daughter Karri Cox), and APRHF Rail Rangers volunteers
Kathy Bruecker, Roger Dart, Dave Poole, Robert Neil, and Craig Wright.
Before the tour begins, our group of APRHF volunteers gets a safety briefing from Amtrak's Derrick James (Photo by Robert Tabern)
We began our tour promptly at 10:00a.m. by meeting Derrick at the
entrance to the Great Hall; he gave everyone a quick safety briefing
and an overview on the history of Chicago Union Station. According to
Derrick, the history of Union Station dates back to 1874, when five
competing railroads agreed to build and share a single station; it was
to be located on the site of the current Chicago Union Station. Before
this, each railroad had its own station in the downtown area. This
set-up meant that through-travelers had to make a very inconvenient
transfer from one station to another. This new agreement was made
between the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Railroad, the Michigan Central Railroad, the Chicago and Alton
Railroad, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway (also known
as the Milwaukee Road). The original station opened in 1881. However,
after just a few decades of use, city officials called for an enlarged
Union Station to be built on the same site. Work began on the massive
project in 1913. Construction was delayed by World War I and other
labor issues. The current Chicago Union Station finally opened its
doors twelve years later, in May 1925. The station's architect,
Chicago-native Daniel Burnham, died before its completion. During World
War II, Union Station was at its busiest, handling as many as 300
trains and 100,000 passengers daily; many of them were soldiers. After
the war, however, traffic both at Union Station and on passenger
railroads saw a decline with the growth of interstate highways. In
1969, the historic concourse portion of the station was demolished,
making way for a modern office tower. Then, a new, modernized concourse
was constructed beneath the tower. In 1991, the concourse and Great
Hall were renovated. There is currently another round of renovations
underway, including adding more station services back to the Great Hall
area.
The original 1881 version of Chicago Union Station (Public domain image)
A view of what Chicago Union Station looked like between the 1920's and late 1960's (Public domain image)
A current view of Union Station and the skyscraper that replaced the old concourse area (Public domain image)
Our "Hard Hat Tour" began with a visit to the new Legacy Club,
which is located in the far southwest corner of the Great Hall. Earlier
this year, Amtrak opened up this space as a second lounge for travelers
at Chicago Union Station. Visitors to the Legacy Club pay a $20.00/day
fee to wait inside the Legacy Club, which is stocked with drinks and
snacks; there is also a monthly pass for $50.00 and an annual pass for
$500.00. Those who use the lounge do not have to be traveling by train
at all, however, the fee applies to everyone who wishes to access the
Legacy Club. That fee also gets you "priority boarding" if you are
traveling on an intercity train. Amtrak passengers with business class
or sleeping car tickets still have complimentary access to the
Metropolitan Lounge, but may also choose to wait in the Legacy Club,
too. Prior to its conversion to the Legacy Club earlier this year, this
area was known as the Gallery Space; it was used for special events and
meetings. And, of course, originally, this area was built as a men's
lounge and a barber shop that had enough chairs for 17 men to get their
hair cut at one time.
Amtrak's Derrick James welcomes us to the Legacy Club at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
The Legacy Club features outlets and trendy furniture, plus a quiet place to wait for your train (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
A view inside the restored barber's shop in the Legacy Club at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
A view inside the restored barber's shop in the Legacy Club at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
A historical photo of the Union Station Barber's Shop, as seen during the 1940's (Courtesy: Chicago Architectural Photographing Company)
A historical photo of the Union Station Barber's Shop, as seen during the 1960's (Courtesy: www.metro-magazine.com)
What the barber shop area of Chicago Union Station looked like in December 2012, before its recent renovation (Photo by Robert Tabern)
While the old barber shop area and men's lounge are no longer an
"off limits" areas of Chicago Union Station thanks to its reincarnation
into the Legacy Club... one portion that is however, is the old Fred
Harvey Cafe and Dining Room area. The Golden Lion rivaled the best
hotel dining rooms in the city, while the Red Lion was for travelers of
more modest tastes and budgets. Derrick lead us through a door,
normally locked, that is located behind the curtains in the center part
of the Great Hall. This leads to where hundreds of thousands of people
must have eaten over the years while waiting for their train. This large
area of the station has sadly essentially sat vacant for more than 35
years now; fire damage from a blaze that broke out here in 1980 can
even still be seen. There are hopes that a tenant, or multiple tenants,
might be interested in renovating this space. Maybe one day an elegant
restaurant will come back here and can be enjoyed by today's
passengers. Here are some views of the former Golden Lion Room:
The entrance to the Fred Harvey cafe, as seen during a time when it was open to the public (Courtesy: Chicago Historical Society)
The entrance to the former Fred
Harvey cafe is covered up by a large black curtain today (seen in the
lower right part of this photo) (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Amtrak's Derrick James opens the doors to what was the elegant Fred Harvey's Golden Lion Dining Room
(Photo by Robert Tabern)
A view of what the Golden Lion Restaurant looked like during its
heyday; note the doorway - this is the area we are standing outside of
(Courtesy: Chicago Historical Society)
Another view of what the Golden Lion Restaurant looked like during its heyday
(Courtesy: Chicago Historical Society)
Sadly, this is all that remains today of the Golden Lion Room, located behind the locked door off the Great Hall
(Photo by Kandace Tabern)
From
the location of the former Golden Lion Room, Derrick took us into the
former cafe area of the station; again, this area was known as the Red
Lion Room. Here is a look at some historical photos and also what this
area looks like today:
The former Red Lion Fred Harvey cafe
is adjacent to the old Golden Lion Room, however it was less elegant -
this is what it looks like today - totally vacant!
(Photo by Kandace Tabern)
A historical post card of the Red Lion Fred Harvey Lunch Room area; note the staircase that is the same in the modern photo (Public domain image)
A historical photo of the Red Lion
Fred Harvey Lunch Room area; once again, note the staircase that is the
same in the modern photo (Public domain image)
APRHF Rail Rangers Executive Director
Robert Tabern (left) and Rail Rangers Asst. Chicago Coordinator Kandace
Tabern (right) in the Fred Harvey Lunchroom (Photo by Bob Cox)
The "foot print" of the old Fred Harvey lunch counter can still be seen today
(Photo by Bob Cox)
A historical photo of the Red Lion Fred Harvey Lunch Room area; this was taken from the balcony area seen in the modern photo (Public domain image)
Karri Cox walks through part of the old Fred Harvey lunch counter space at Chicago Union Station, as its seen today (Photo by Robert Tabern)
The lunch counter area still has serious burn damage from a fire that broke out inside the station in 1980 (Photos by Bob Cox & Kandace Tabern)
From the Fred Harvey Lunch Room
area, we move one room towards the east - and got a peek inside the old
women's lounge area. Like the old dining room and lunch room, this area
has also been vacant for many years and is strictly off-limits to the
general public. It was opened recently for the handful of "Hard Hat
Tours" offered by Amtrak during Amtrak Train Days in 2015, as well as
an "Open Doors" Event put on by the Chicago Architectural Foundation.
Luckily, the women's lounge was untouched by the 1980 fire and many of
the original murals still exist. Amtrak currently uses this room just
for storage; when we were there in August 2015, we saw numerous
Christmas decorations being stored for the Holidays. There also
appeared to be an old staircase that led down to the lower level of
Union Station that was bricked over.
Bob Cox, Derrick James, and Dave Poole explore around the former women's lounge area of Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
A view of the historic columns and murals inside the former women's lounge at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
A view of the historic ceiling tiles inside the former women's lounge at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
A wave pattern painted on the inside of the old women's lounge can also be seen outside on the stonework of the main Great Hall (Photo by Robert Tabern)
An old drinking fountain, located inside the old women's lounge of Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
Our tour briefly went from "old" to
"new" when we headed up to check out the new Amtrak offices located on
the upper floors of the station. Again, this is generally closed to the
public unless you are meeting with someone from the railroad. For many
years, Amtrak's offices were at a leased space a few blocks from the
station. A few years ago, the floors were renovated and employees moved
back into the station.
Old elevators lead to Amtrak's modern office area of Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
The entrance area to Amtrak's offices; note the old benches from the Great Hall (Photo by Robert Tabern)
Amtrak's logo and a model train in the Chicago offices (Photo by Robert Tabern)
The original exterior doors to Chicago Union Station are on display in the new office area (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
A collection of posters highlights Amtrak's long-distance trains (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Employees can eat their lunches in this area, which overlooks the Great Hall (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Kandace Tabern (left) and Karri Cox (right) pose for a picture on the overlook area of the Great Hall (Photo by Robert Tabern)
From the modern office area of
Chicago Union Station, it was off to tour the remaining off-limits
areas. This included a vacant area that is being turned into the new
Metropolitan Lounge, a walk through the employee area in the basement
of Union Station where luggage is handled, the abandoned United States
Postal Service mail platforms, plus a walk through the "secret" steam
tunnel that carried super-heated steam in its two main 18" pipelines
underground.
This vacant area is expected to be the new home of Chicago's Metropolitan Lounge, slated for an opening in Summer 2016 (Photo by Robert Tabern)
APRHF volunteers Craig Wright, Kathy Bruecker, and Dave Poole explore the basement area of Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
Luggage carts are being loaded for the afternoon long-distance western trains in the basement of Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
APRHF volunteers Craig Wright walks down the "secret" steam tunnel in the lower level of Chicago Union Station (Photo by Robert Tabern)
Kandace Tabern and Robert Neil walk up an abandoned stairwell to access the mail platforms (Photo by Robert Tabern)
An abandoned mail platform; note the hand-written 'arrivals' schedule - it obviously pre-dates Amtrak with the railroads listed (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Another old arrival/departures board on the abandoned mail platforms (Photo by Kandace Tabern)
An un-used U.S.P.S. mail track at Chicago Union Station (Photo by Bob Cox)
Overhead mail conveyor belts that haven't been used in a long time appear above the tracks and platforms (Photo by Bob Cox)
Rolls of old plastic wrap with the 'pointless arrow' Amtrak logo sit on the abandoned mail platforms
(Photo by Kandace Tabern)
Dave Poole, Robert Tabern, Kathy
Bruecker, and Kandace Tabern thank Derrick James (center) for his
outstanding "Hard Hat Tour" of the station (Photo by Bob Cox)
Our tour concluded with a walk back
into the main public portion of Chicago Union Station. All of the APRHF
Rail Rangers volunteers who took the tour thanked Derrick for his time
and the amazing and unforgettable tour of the station -- that we
THOUGHT we knew so well -- until seeing some of the sites that we got
to on this "Hard Hat Tour"!
