Last Station Standing
It stands tall at the foot of Dearborn Street as it dead ends into Polk Street. Once one of
six great rail stations crowding downtown Chicago, the old Polk Street Station is the oldest surviving depot in the city, and the only one from the 19th century.
Built in 1885, and designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz, the Romanesque Revival exterior
explodes with ornamental terra cotta decor.
Once the home of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroad the head house is all that
remains of a once thriving terminal. Today the building serves as a gateway to a large housing development called Dearborn Park, which covers the vast acreage once home to the train shed and a large network of rail tracks.
There is virtually nothing left of the old interior, but if you poke around you might just find
the remnant of one of the old staircases. A piece of architecture left over from a period in American transportation history that has virtually vanished from the landscape.
Posted by designslinger at 2/2/2010 1:05 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Decorative Arts
Tags: Chicago Dearborn Park rail stations Dearborn St. Station Polk St. Station
Categories: Architecture, Decorative Arts
Tags: Chicago Dearborn Park rail stations Dearborn St. Station Polk St. Station
Amazing brick and stone details!
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Yes indeed!
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Oh! I can't believe that there's a station that is standing firm until now. Many centuries had already past and yet this station does not look too old.
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Good maintenance, along with good sturdy building materials, can last eons.
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