The Richard B. Ogilvie Transportation Center (), on the site of the former Chicago and North Western Terminal, is a commuter rail terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois. For the last century, this site has served as the primary terminal for the Chicago and North Western Railway and its successors Union Pacific and Metra. Intercity services had disappeared by the 1970s, but commuter services on the three ex-CNW mainlines, Metra's UP District lines, continue to terminate here. The tracks are elevated above street level. The old CNW terminal building was replaced in the mid 1980s with a modern skyscraper, the 500 West Madison Street building. The modern building occupies two square city blocks, bounded by Randolph Street and Madison Street to the north and south and by Canal Street and Clinton Street to the east and west. It is the second busiest rail station in Chicago, after nearby Union Station, the sixth-busiest railway station in North America, and the third-busiest station (after Grand Central Terminal and Jamaica station in New York City) that exclusively serves commuter traffic.
History
The 1911 station
The Chicago and North Western Railway built the Chicago and North Western Terminal in 1911 to replace its Wells Street Station across the North Branch of the Chicago River. The new station, in the Renaissance Revival style, was designed by Frost and Granger, also the architects for the 1903 LaSalle Street Station.
The Tyler & Hippach Mirror Company Factory was moved 168 feet east and 52 feet south to make room for the station's construction. At the time, this was the largest building ever moved.
The station's 16 tracks were elevated above street level and "reached by six approach tracks and sheltered under an 894-foot-long [272 meter] Bush train shed." The upper level of the head house housed a concourse and other facilities for intercity passengers, including "dressing rooms, baths, nurses and matrons rooms, and a doctor's office". The centerpiece of the upper level was a stately waiting room, measuring 201 by 202 feet (34 by 62 meters), and rising 84 feet (approx. 26 meters) to its barrel vaulted ceiling. In addition to the main concourse on the upper level, there was a street-level concourse for commuters.
During the heyday of rail travel, the Chicago and North Western Terminal was home to the C&NW's trains to Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St Paul, Madison and other cities of the upper Midwest, including the railroad's premier 400 series of trains. Until October 30, 1955, it was also the Chicago terminus of the trains the Union Pacific ran in conjunction with the C&NW, including the Overland Limited and the famed City trains (City of San Francisco, City of Los Angeles, Portland Rose) (operations of all Union Pacific intercity passenger trains would be turned over to the C&NW's rival, the Milwaukee Road). Other less famous trains such as the Corn King Special (Omaha), Viking (Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Minneapolis/St Paul), and Columbine (Denver). In 1939, there were 38 inter-city departures each business day.
The 1984 station
In 1984, the head house was razed and replaced with the glass-and-steel 42-story Citicorp Center (now Accenture Tower), which was completed three years later in 1987. Metra service was maintained with only minor interruptions during construction – following the example of the demolition and replacement of New York Penn Station.
1991 rehabilitation
In 1991 Metra purchased the train shed from Chicago and North Western and conducted a survey to determine the condition. The examination included necessary repairs to improve its structural integrity and redesign measures to bring the station up to modern mass-commuting standards. After completing a thorough evaluation, Metra, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, and the Illinois Department of Transportation decided to completely replace the existing structure and in 1992, with the assistance of Federal funding, a contractor and management team were selected to begin the work.