RE: (rshsdepot) Chicago, IL (Union Station)

["Paul Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

can they put back the other side while they're at it?


> [Original Message]
> From: <I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com>
> To: <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
> Date: 8/13/2007 4:13:13 PM
> Subject: (rshsdepot) Chicago, IL (Union Station)
>
> From the GateHouse News Service.
>  
> Bernie Wagenblast
>  
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  
> Blazing a new rail for Union  Station
>
>
> Blazing a new rail for Union Station  
> _http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/506405,111NWS4.article_ 
> (http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/506405,111NWS4.article)  
> August 11, 2007  
> By Mike Ramsey GateHouse News Service  
> With its marble floors, Corinthian columns and soaring barrel-vaulted
ceiling 
>  of glass, the Great Hall of Chicago`s Union Station has served as a hub
for  
> train travelers since opening in 1925, when passenger rail was
approaching 
> its  zenith in the United States.  
> But today, the cavernous interior used to great effect in a shootout
scene in 
>  1987`s ``The Untouchables`` is relatively quiet and slightly run-down.  
> That is expected to change, with the advancing plans being pushed by a
team  
> of redevelopers and Amtrak, which owns the Great Hall.  
> If all goes well for them, the beaux arts structure at Canal Street and  
> Jackson Boulevard -- technically known as the ``Headhouse`` building of
the  
> larger Union Station complex -- will get an 18-floor addition on top and
become  a 
> mixed-use center with offices, residences, hotel rooms, retail space and  
> restaurants.  
> The project could cost $457 million.  
> Passenger-rail advocates are cautious about the plan. They say the Great  
> Hall`s earlier purpose as a haven for train riders should not get lost
among the  
> bells and whistles of the project.  
> Rick Harnish, the Chicago-based rail advocate who last year helped to  
> convince lawmakers to double Amtrak service within Illinois, is critical
of the  way 
> the Great Hall now is used -- or to him, underused. He said Amtrak  
> passengers effectively have been nudged to the railroad`s newer, but
frequently  
> crowded, boarding lounge.  
> The lounge and Amtrak service booths are located east of the Great Hall,  
> under a modern high-rise that replaced a Headhouse companion structure
known as  
> the Concourse.  
> Occasionally, Harnish said, the Great Hall is cleared of its benches,
forcing 
>  travelers who want to wait there to plop down on the floor like
``hobos.``  
> ``The room is screaming, `Passenger trains are going away,` `` said
Harnish,  
> executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. ``It`s
like  
> they`ve had a going-out-of-business sale.``  
> He said he would like to see amenities in the Great Hall that include  
> bathrooms, retail stalls, ticket booths and easy-to-read status reports
of train  
> arrivals and departures. Currently, there is a central kiosk with small  
> electronic monitors that relay schedule information about Amtrak and
Metra, the  
> suburban commuter rail system that uses another portion of Union Station.

> A resolution passed earlier this year by directors of the National  
> Association of Railroad Passengers in Washington expressed alarm that the
Great  Hall 
> may be ``converted to retail space in a manner that renders it unusable
for  
> train passengers.``  
> Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that fear is unfounded. He said the
Great 
>  Hall redevelopment would include improvements, including climate
controls,  
> geared toward waiting travelers.  
> Amtrak passengers approached Wednesday in the Great Hall indicated they
don`t 
>  think the space needs much more to make it inviting to travelers.  
> ``The No. 1 thing is air conditioning,`` said Allan Henderson, of Kearny,

> N.J., a retired letter carrier. ``Retail -- I couldn`t care less.``  
> Sheila Stafford, of Janesville, Wis., said displaying some information
about  
> the history of the building would be nice. Anything more than that might
make 
>  the hall cluttered, she said.  
> ``I just like to see the beauty of the building,`` Stafford said. 
>
>
>
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------------------------------

End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1590
********************************

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org