Chicago, IL Depot: GTW Chicago Lawn Depot

(Satellite, the satellite must have caught it after it was torn down in 2017 and before it was back filled with dirt.)

r_bitunjac Flickr

Gabriel Siuty 2y 

Unfortunately , due to a small fire inside of the old Gran Trunk Railway depot during Aug of 2016 the railway finally decided to start demolishing the old railway way depot Aug 8, 9. 10 th of 2017.

Really looked neat inside , there was a tavern named Traxx during the 90 s and once the wood paneling came down you can see marking on the walls for Grand Trunk Passengers.

Cement stairs were still in tact and lead to the platform .

Near the back a sign G.T.W along with markings B O RR PAMA OHIO, KANOSHA, ENGINE MEN ONLY , Leads to an elevator that goes up past the platform and above the platform to a tower where a large round spotlight faces the South .

There was always a debate over the address but I did find original number to match 3601 W 63 Street above the front original doors looking in from the inside.

Mark Kocol shared
Grew up by Midway Airport in the 70s and 80s, drove past this building (https://www.flickr.com/photos/34126404@N06/15365473263/) hundreds of times. When the Orange Line went in, that was what I believed was the first commuter line through the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. I was wrong, obviously. Stumbled on a YouTube video (https://youtu.be/5Bg98H6a2DA?t=136) showing a commuter train approaching 63rd & Halsted, did some poking around, and found that this station at 63rd & Central Park was part of the GTW commuter line, I believe, just like the video at 63rd/Halsted. According to a Forgotten Chicago URL (https://forgottenchicago.com/forum/read.php?1,13884), this structure replaced the original commuter station that had been on the West side of these tracks, at street level, until sometime in the 1930s. Any history of this commuter line, and this station in particular? Living in the far SW suburbs now and cross the tracks through Glenwood daily - looks like this same line through Chicago Lawn came through Glenwood, too? https://www.chicagorailfan.com/msgtw.html
Chuck Roth Grand Trunk did have commuter service to Valparaiso in the early 1900s it was all over by the early 30s But this station served the inter city trains mainly to Michigan into the early 70s.
Alan Follett Two different stations are shown. The still photo is the Grand Trunk Western’s Chicago Lawn station, around 3600 west on 63rd. The video, however, is farther east, at the Chicago & Western Indiana’s Englewood Station (called “Little Englewood,” to distinguish it from the larger Englewood Union Station used by PRR, NYC, Rock Island, and Nickel Plate).
Ron Hull In the mid 70’s after the passenger trains were gone, the ground floor of this station (63rd and St. Louis in Chicago Lawn) became a railroad themed restaurant. We’d eaten there a few times - it was a nice place with a good menu and really good food. Sorry to have seen it shut down in the 80’s.
Mitch Markovitz Just think. Until 1971 you could catch either the day train (Maple Leaf) or the overnight train (The International) to Toronto, and the evening train to Detroit from this station on the Grand Trunk.
Rotwang Manteuffel I found this out about the GTW line... "Until 1935, this route had commuter service from Chicago to Harvey. And prior to then, some commuter trains went beyond, to Valparaiso. Between Chicago/Dearborn Station and 47th St., trains operated over the Chicago & Western Indiana, which had its own local commuter trains. Intercity trains operated until the formation of Amtrak in 1971, with Chicago Lawn, Valparaiso and South Bend the only surviving stations when passenger service was discontinued." The station had an elevator for baggage and freight.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Mark's post
A 2015 street view still shows the building.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

Dennis DeBruler commented on Mark's post
But a 2018 view shows the building has been replaced with dirt.
https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4...

1938 Aerial Photo from ILHAP

Brian A Morgan posted

The former Grand Trunk Western Railroad Passenger Station which used to stand at 3601 West 63rd Street in the Chicagolawn Neighborhood. This was the first stop out of Dearborn Street Station Eastbound and the last stop Westbound heading into Dearborn Street Station. This station hosted the various named passenger trains to and from Canada and Detroit:

The International Limited: (Montreal - Detroit - Chicago)

Inter-City Limited: (Montreal - Detroit - Chicago)

Maple Leaf: ( Chicago- Toronto - Detroit)

John McElroy: Dearborn Station had a habit of flooding (or at least the approach yards did) and we sometimes had to board Canada-bound trains at Chicago Lawn. The railroad provided taxi rides but you had to know where you were going; cab drivers had no idea.
Brian A Morgan: Back in the day. The Grand Trunk Western provided a Funeral Service train that departed Dearborn Street Station and stopped at Chicagolawn as well. The Elevator had a dual purpose as a baggage and mail service as well as lifting caskets. Chicago and Grand trunk Railway funeral trains left daily the Polk Street Depot daily To St. Maria (St. Mary’s), Mt Greenwood Mt Olivet and Mt. Hope cemeteries.

Two comments by Brian Morgan on a post:

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Paul Hieber posted
As a railfan kid I always wondered about this building. 63rd? and Central Park Avenue, down the Grand Trunk line. Looks like a train station. And I think it's gone now.

Mitch Markovitz

It was a passenger station. Chicago Lawn on the Grand Trunk. Three trains a day before Amtrak in 1971 Two to Toronto, one to Detroit.

Ron Hull

After it ceased being a passenger station the space was leased to railroad - themed restaurant. It was a nice place with good food, having eaten there a few times. Obviously long gone.

Rick Burn

The book Lost City discusses the local Catholic Church rode football specials to Notre Dame from this station.

John McElroy

Once when the yards south of Dearborn Station were flooded we passengers were sent in taxis to this station to board the overnight Toronto train on the Grand Trunk, which I seem to remember was called the "International Limited". The main purpose of my trip was to visit Expo67 in Montreal with a stop in Toronto to ride the streetcars. CN/GT still ran a good passenger operation even at that late date (summer, 1967).

Kevin McKinney

I worked in the Grand Trunk’s Passenger Department 1967-1970 while in college. Summers at the City Ticket Office at 105 W. Adams; the rest of the year as Station Agent at East Lansing. GTW operated three good trains daily in and out of Chicago serving Michigan and Canada.

John McElroy

GT was one of the last railroads (Santa Fe was another) to maintain a city ticket office in expensive ground floor space. I bought my ticket there in June, 1967.

Al Krasauskas posted
Vintage photographic streetview of the first Grand Trunk RR's Chicago Lawn Railroad Depot/Station building that once stood on the east side of the street level Grand Truck railroad tracks (South Central Park Avenue), at West 63rd Street. View is looking south, towards the 63rd Street railroad crossing. The Grand Trunk Railroad's Elsdon locomotive and maintenance yard was established less than a mile north of this location in 1880. Safe to assume this depot building was built in 1880 or just the year before as Grand Trunk RR had opened a large commuter rail service connecting multiple southwest side neighborhood stops with downtown Chicago, on their railroad line. Undated photo but with early automobiles visible in this photo, safe to say this was taken sometime in the 1920s. This RR Depot Station building was demolished in 1928 and was replaced with a new, 2-story railroad depot building. This was due to the railroad company's tracks needed to comply with city of Chicago ordinances requiring the railroads to raise their tracks above street level. The 2nd Grand Trunk railroad depot building was completed and opened for service next to the newly built railroad viaduct, in 1929 (demolished in 2017). Image found on ebay.
John Foote: Al Krasauskas Chicago Lawn land was mostly exempt from the 1890's City "raise your right-of-way" rules, because farmland, industrial land, freight terminals, and rail yards were exempt. However, as that land was subdivided for residential use in the '20s, Grand Trunk RR finally had to do what other in-city rail cos. had done in the 1890s-1910: raise their track and build new stations. Tracks were raised to forestall pedestrian deaths at rail crossings, which had grown to 3k/yr in '93 & '94.
Ray Vanderhulst Jr.: John Foote By the time the tracks reached 71st street they were back at ground level.
George Paruch shared
Barbara Steven shared
That's a REALLY OLD view of my old neighborhood in Chicago!! Those viaducts were built at Central Park Ave. (3600W) from 58th St. to Marquette Rd. (67th St.) in 1929, according to the inscription on each of them.

Al commented on his post
The second Grand Trunk Railroad depot/station building was completed and opened for service next to the newly built railroad viaduct and elevated tracks, in 1929. This depot building was demolished in 2017. Photo shows how this depot building looked before it was sold or rented out to become a local bar.

Richard Fiedler commented on Al's post