10. Wells Street Station
The land on which sits Chicago’s Merchandise Mart once featured the Wells Street Station. Built by the Chicago and North Western railway and opening in 1881, the station serviced passenger trains for thirty years before the Chicago and North Western replaced it, opening another terminal on the opposite side of the North Branch of the Chicago River. The older station remained in use as a freight terminal, and the Merchandise Mart used the air rights above the station when built in the late 1920s. The Merchandise Mart opened in 1930, with a new freight station built to serve its needs.
Wells Street Station provided an important link for residents of the city’s suburbs, arriving in the city daily for work. In 1893 the station serviced about 200 trains per day, accommodating an average of 32,000 passengers. The five-story station, which also provided office space for railroad executives and workers, stood before a train shed which covered 12 tracks. Wells Street Station serviced the trains of its parent company exclusively, the only one of the six main stations in Chicago used by a single railroad. Its central tower became an early Chicago landmark, rising 188 feet into the air and featuring a large clock on each of its four sides beneath its steeple.