The Great Chicago Fire of October 1871 destroyed the station, which was rebuilt shortly afterwards. The post-fire station was demolished to make way for a new station designed by the architectural firm Frost & Granger[3] which opened July 1, 1903 and stood until 1981. This station was a set for Alfred Hitchcock's 1959 North by Northwest, starring Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint, and in the 1973 movie The Sting starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford.
From its completion in 1882, the New York, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad (Nickel Plate Road) ran over the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway from a junction at Grand Crossing neighborhood north to downtown Chicago, where it had its own terminal south of LaSalle between 1892 and 1898. The LS&MS quickly gained control of the Nickel Plate, and later allowed it into its LaSalle Street Station as a tenant. In July 1916, the by-then New York Central sold the Nickel Plate to the Van Sweringens, but it continued to operate into LaSalle until the end of Nickel Plate passenger service.
The 20th Century Limited being pulled out of LaSalle Street Station by the Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive
From July 31, 1904, to August 1, 1913, trains of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad also used LaSalle Street Station, which reached it via trackage rights on the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific from Ashburn.[4][5]
Map of former services serving the LaSalle Street station
Amtrak came into existence on May 1, 1971, taking over most intercity rail service across the nation. However, LaSalle was unaffected: Penn Central's services via former New York Central tracks had been relocated to Union Station as noted above. The Rock Island opted out of Amtrak and continued to operate intercity service in the form of the Quad Cities Rocket and Peoria Rocket, operating to Rock Island and Peoria, respectively. These final intercity trains serving LaSalle made their final trips on December 31, 1978, ending the station's role as a terminal for intercity passenger trains.
A connection at Englewood Station was completed on October 15, 1971, to allow the Rock Island to also operate over the PFW&C to Union Station, but the failing Rock Island decided to continue using LaSalle. The Rock Island ended intercity passenger service in 1978, but continued operating its commuter trains until handing them to the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1980. Only a year later, C&NW handed the former Rock Island commuter lines to the RTA's newly formed operating arm, the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation. It became part of the RTA Commuter Rail Division, now Metra, in 1984.
From 1972–75 the Rock Island operated a restaurant called Track One, using two former railroad cars parked on track 1 at the station. The two cars, the dining carGolden Harvest and the club-lounge Pacific Shore, had previously served on the Golden State Limited.[6][7]
In June 2011, The Chicago Department of Transportation opened the LaSalle/Congress Intermodal Transfer Center alongside the station as a bus terminal, to serve people transferring to CTA buses as well as Blue Line trains at LaSalle.[9]
On Father's Day weekend in June 2017, Nickel Plate 765 became the first steam locomotive to enter LaSalle Street Station since Southern Railway 4501 visited the station in 1973. The 765 pulled trips to Joliet, Illinois over Metra's Rock Island District dubbed the Joliet Rocket.[10] One of the cars in this excursion train was the former New York Central observation car Hickory Creek, a car built for the 20th Century Limited, which hadn't been to the station since December 3, 1967. [11] Of note, the Hickory Creek was the last car on the final run of the 20th Century Limited to leave LaSalle on December 3, 1967.
Services
LaSalle was a terminal for the following lines and intercity trains:
Among the most famous name trains that terminated at LaSalle were the New York Central's 20th Century Limited from 1902 until 1967 and the Rock Island-Southern Pacific Golden State Limited from 1902 until 1968.
LaSalle still serves commuter trains on Metra's Rock Island District. As of 2007, approximately 17,000 people boarded Metra trains at LaSalle each day.[12] It is planned that, in the future, Metra's SouthWest Service will be shifted from the Union Station to LaSalle Street.[8] Additionally, the proposed Metra SouthEast Service would terminate at LaSalle if built.
Shuttle service between Downtown Chicago and Valparaiso (Rush hour only)
Gallery
The Chicago Stock Exchange/LaSalle Train Station as viewed from the Willis (Sears) Tower in July 2019
LaSalle Intermodal Transfer Center
Sign for LaSalle Street Station near LaSalle/Van Buren on the Chicago "L" Loop
The Chicago Loop with the platforms and tracks of LaSalle Street Station visible in the foreground east of the Chicago River. Union Station and its tracks can be seen west of the Chicago River.
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