The Cordova daily times., 1923-02-17
NEW TERMINAL CHlCAC0TO
 BE LARGEST


 Dearborn station damaged by fire four days before last Christmas, will be replaced by the largest railroad ter minal in the world, if the seven roads now using the station can obtain the support of two or more additional lines for plans already drawn.
 The project involves an initial ex- penditure of approximately $55,000,- 900, ten years work, a fifty per cent expansion of the downtown business district, removal of the "bottle neck' south of the loop and eventual elimi- nation, through identification, of smoke and cinders.
 The plans call for a terminal devel- opment approximately one-third larg- CT than that of the New York Central on Manhattan Island.
 President H. G. Hetzler, president of the Chicago and Western Indiana railroad, owners of the Dearborn ter minal, recently submitted the plans to
  tion, and, with their approval, has opened negotiations with the New York Central and Rock Island, which now use the LaSalle street station, and also the four roads which use the antiuuated Grand Central station, in viting them to join.
 the architects plans call for so- called "head house" composed of three units, a monumental forty story of flee building flanked by two twenty story structures. The three would front on a wide plaza extending from Polk street, Dearborn street, which now terminates in front of the old sta tion, would be carried south on either side of the central unit as wide ele- yated boulevard, the two sections unit ing south of the head house to be con- tinued to 16th street as 120 foot bou- levard Bridges at the sixth floor level would cross these bouleVards' linking the three buildings. All tracks would be submerged, opening the entire present yard space from Polk street south to 16th street from State street west to Clark street, for construction of business houses and hotels This area is slightly more than half as large as the present loop district and about one-third larger than the Grand Central terminal in New York.
 Chicago's southern development has been hampered for years because the south branch of the Chicago river, bending back toward the lake, forms narrow bottle neck through which all north and south traffic must move. This natural handicap has been aug mented by acres of railroad tracks which have been crowded toward the lake by the twist of the river. AS a result there are only four through arteries between the lake and the river, Michigan avenue, Wabash, State and Clark streets.
 By carrying Dearborn street south through this area as 12O foot Wlde elevated boulevard and also by elevat- ing a boulevard on State street, the terminal plans propose to uncork the bottle. All north and south and east and west streets in the terminal area would be double-decked, with freight streets on the ground level and the through boulevards above, following the plan already carried out on North Michigan avenue, and about to be in- stalled on South Water street. at the river.
 The underground plans provide for twenty eight stub tracks to handle through passenger service, with nine. suburban service tracks circling around under the buildings in a loop. Arrangements are provided for direct connection of the suburban tracks with the proposed state street car subway.
 Construction of the terminal de- bends upon the attitude of roads now using other stations, which they have outgrown.