Chicago Illinois Union Station Building

Eight floor plans showing Chicago’s Union Station during the late 1970s.

This incredible collection of nine-floor plans of Chicago Union Station was printed locally by Cushing & Company for use by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railway. Originally designed in 1964, dated revisions above the title block indicate these examples were updated in re-issued in 1979. Each of the station’s eight floors (including the basement and mezzanine) is laid out at a scale of 1/16″ = 1′, offering an amazingly detailed glimpse at the building’s organization during the late 1970s.

Interesting features include 3,000 sq. ft. of printing operations (reproduction rooms) in the basement, a computer room, the women’s lounge, and a Fred Harvey lunch room that experienced a catastrophic fire in 1980. Many departments have their respective square footage listed; such as Rules Safety & Training (484 sq. ft.) and Revenue & Accounting (8,129 sq. ft.). As shown in the blueprints, large portions of Union Station remained vacant and neglected until significant renovations in the late 2010s.

Chicago’s first union station was built in 1881 as a coordinated effort between four railroads – The Pennsy, Burlington Route, Chicago & Alton Railroad, and the Milwaukee Road (Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific). It wasn’t long before a larger station was needed, and Daniel Burnham incorporated a grandiose design into his 1909 plan of Chicago. Burnham died in 1912, but his work was continued and completed in 1925 by the renowned architectural firm of Graham, Anderson, Probst, and White. Though the station has undergone significant changes between then and now, the iconic Beaux-Arts facade, constructed of Bedford limestone, remains an iconic fixture in the landscape of downtown Chicago.

Sources: Chicago Union Station; American Planning Association; Curbed Chicago;