Springfield Union Station (Illinois)

From 1898 to the mid-twentieth century, the ornate Union Station served as the town's central railroad hub, connecting St. Louis and Chicago, as well as a few other main cities in the Eastern U.S., to the Illinois capital. The Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style building cost $75,000 to build (around $2.8 million in today's money) and was designed by Francis T. Bacon. Its 110-foot clock tower (removed in 1946) was the prominent feature in downtown Springfield, greeting visitors immediately upon arrival. The train station was abandoned in the 1970s and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It was rehabbed and turned into a shopping mall in 1985. The building underwent a major renovation that was completed in 2007, including restoration of the clock tower. Union Station is part of the multi-building Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; the former train station has served as the visitors' center but is currently closed to the public (as of December 2023).

Springfield Union Station was completed in 1898 by the Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR) in downtown Springfield. A competing railroad company, the Chicago and Alton Railroad, built a new depot in Springfield in 1895 after locals complained of their poor facilities and boycotted the line; ICRR didn't want to be seen as less modern. The ICRR leased office space in Union Station to several other passenger service lines including the Baltimore and Ohio; the Chicago, Peoria, and St. Louis; and the St. Louis, Peoria and Northern Railway. Most passengers arrived from (or departed to) the two nearest big cities, Chicago and St. Louis, but the railways extended to many of the country's biggest cities. 

The Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style building was faced in pressed brick in brown, red, and buff colors; Bedford limestone was used for the watertables, lintels, and sills. Terra cotta decorations were placed at the main gable, three-story clock tower, and dormers. The interior featured separate waiting rooms for men and ladies; the mezzanine and second floor (built from yellow cypress) held railway offices. A carriageway paved in brick along the south side of the station allowed easy access for horse-powered and later, automobile, traffic.

The ICRR added two office bays on the Madison Street side in 1924 but matched the style of the original building. The 110-foot clock tower served as a downtown skyscraper, immediately noticed by those coming to and from Springfield. However, the town decided to remove the clock hands in 1936 while in the midst of the Great Depression; the cost of maintaining the clock proved too expensive. The tower was removed down to its base in 1946 for safety reasons. Employees of ICRR who were killed in action during World War II military service were honored by a War Memorial Plaque, unveiled at Union Station on September 10th, 1945.

Union Station ceased to exist as a functional passenger train center in 1971 when the ICRR merged with the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio and moved into the former Chicago and Alton station, located about three blocks west of Union Station. The last passenger train left Union Station on April 30th, 1971. The building was abandoned and vacant for fourteen years; it was documented in the late 1970s for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. In 1985, the building was turned into a shopping mall after a $4.5-million rehabilitation project.

After a $12.5 million renovation completed in 2007, Union Station became part of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum complex. The renovation project included restoring the 110-foot clock tower and installing a clock that matches the original visually but is electric-powered and calibrated by GPS satellite technology. The former train station has served as the visitors' center but is closed to the public (as of December 2023).

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation. Accessed October 16, 2017. http://www.alplm.org/.

Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Union Station, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. January 1st, 2023. Accessed December 21st, 2023. https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/visit/whats-inside/exhibits/union-station/.

Historic Structures. Abandoned train station in Illinois: Union Station, Springfield Illinois, Historic Structures blog. January 21st, 2023. Accessed December 21st, 2023. https://www.historic-structures.com/il/springfield/union_station.php.

"Springfield's Union Station scheduled to reopen today." The Pantagraph via Associated Press (Bloomington, IL), March 18, 2007. http://www.pantagraph.com/news/article_8699a8cf-a15b-575d-a9c5-6fae00767560.html

Stover, John F. History of the Illinois Central Railroad. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1975.

Webster, Ian. Value of $75,000 from 1898 in 2023, CPI Inflation Calculator. December 21st, 2023. Accessed December 21st, 2023. https://www.officialdata.org/us/inflation/1898?amount=75000.