{"nrhp_refnum":"76000688","name":"Dearborn Station","other_names":["Polk Street Station"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"47 W. Polk St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chicago","county":"Cook County","state":"IL","lat":41.872193681000056,"lon":-87.62835359699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-03-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Dearborn Station (also known as Polk Street Station) is a railroad passenger terminal at 47 West Polk Street, at Dearborn Street, in Chicago, Illinois. It was built in 1883-84 to a design by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz.","why_significant":"The nomination calls the terminal a superb example of nineteenth-century Romanesque architecture and Eidlitz's only work in Chicago. It is described as the oldest surviving railroad terminal in Chicago and one of the oldest major terminals in the United States. Its clock tower at the foot of Dearborn Street also links the Loop with the area to the south and recalls the railroads' role in building the city.","narrative":"Dearborn Station, also called Polk Street Station, is a railroad passenger terminal at the foot of Dearborn Street in Chicago. Built in 1883-84 and designed by New York architect Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz, it is built of pink granite, red brick and terra cotta over a cast iron frame, and it is dominated by a tall clock tower. Its principal facade runs 212 feet along Polk Street. A fire in December 1922 destroyed the original steep roofs, and the Santa Fe Railroad rebuilt the upper portions with flat roofs and added a story to the central section. The interior has been remodeled, though the two-story waiting room and the tower stair railing survive. The building was listed as an outstanding Romanesque design, Eidlitz's only Chicago work, and the city's oldest surviving railroad terminal. It also marks the part railroads played in Chicago's growth and ties the Loop to the area to the south.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific dates 1883-84)","architect_builder":"Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz","architectural_style":"Romanesque (Richardsonian Romanesque)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Not used for passenger traffic; the data sheet lists its current use as a freight depot. A 1922 fire led to rebuilding with flat roofs and an added third story in the central section, and the interior has been remodeled.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.949497-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/8922/28892280/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/76000688.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000688/7321d2089a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000688/7321d2089a-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Beyond My Ken","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dearborn_Station_from_west.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Beyond My Ken</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dearborn_Station_from_west.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"78001130","name":"South Loop Printing House District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/illinois/south-loop-printing-house-district-78001130/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28892280","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dearborn_Station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5246974"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/cook-county/dearborn-station-76000688/"}