page_title: Great Central Station
hierarchical_section_title: Great Central Station
caption_attribution_description: English: Illustration of the Great Central Station trainshed. Originally published in Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 2 (August 30, 1856), p. 189. Reproduced in Carroll L. V Meeks' The Railroad Station: An Architectural History (1956).
context_page_description: Great Central Station, also known as Great Central Depot, was an intercity train station in Chicago, Illinois owned by the Illinois Central Railroad. It opened in 1856 and for a time was the largest building in downtown Chicago. Its passenger depot building was located on Water Street. In offices above the depot the IC had its headquarters, while beyond the depot was the large rail house where eight track lines ran. It was damaged in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 but remained in operation.
  The station proved inadequate to handle growing traffic and its original building was demolished in 1893 in favor of the new Central Station further south. Although it continued to receive some traffic, over-time it increasingly became a commuter rail depot. Millennium Station, formerly Randolph Street Terminal, sits on the location.
context_section_description: Great Central Station, also known as Great Central Depot, was an intercity train station in Chicago, Illinois owned by the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). It opened in 1856 and for a time was the largest building in downtown Chicago. Its passenger depot building was located on Water Street. In offices above the depot the IC had its headquarters, while beyond the depot was the large rail house where eight track lines ran. It was damaged in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 but remained in operation. 
  The station proved inadequate to handle growing traffic and its original building was demolished in 1893 in favor of the new Central Station further south. Although it continued to receive some traffic, over-time it increasingly became a commuter rail depot. Millennium Station, formerly Randolph Street Terminal, sits on the location.
caption: Illustration of the rail house train shed which appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper in 1856, shortly after the station opened.
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