12. Grand Central Station
Living up to its name, Grand Central Station featured architecture and furnishings designed to reflect grandeur. Strategically located to take advantage of the bustling traffic on the city’s lakefront, the station opened in December 1890. Visitors were awed by the exterior extravagance, which included a 247″ clock tower at its northeast corner. The interior featured marble floors in its waiting areas, and marble Corinthian columns, a large fireplace, and stained-glass windows. The train shed was built of steel and glass, covering six tracks and platforms over 500 feet in length. One of the largest train sheds in the world at the time of construction, it remained an engineering and architectural marvel throughout its existence.
Despite its architectural and decorative grandeur, Grand Central Station never reached the standing of its competing stations in terms of intercity or commuter traffic. At its peak, it serviced less than 50 trains per day. It served several famous trains, including the Baltimore and Ohio’s Capitol Limited, which connected Chicago to the nation’s capital. By the early 1960s, only ten intercity trains arrived and departed daily, six of them operated by the Baltimore and Ohio. In 1969 all passenger service moved to other Chicago stations and by 1971 demolition of the former architectural marvel began. Its contribution to Chicago, both esthetically and commercially, remains largely forgotten.