Union Station (Gary, Indiana) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gary Union Station
Gary Union Station
Location	185 Broadway, Gary, Indiana
Coordinates	41°36′20.3″N 87°20′13.07″W / 41.605639°N 87.3369639°W / 41.605639; -87.3369639
Construction
Structure type	Neoclassical
Architect	M. A. Lang
Former services
Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Chicago Terminus Main Line Akron–Union toward Jersey City Indiana Harbor toward Chicago Wellsboro toward Jersey City Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Indiana Harbor toward Chicago Main Line Millers toward New York

Union Station in Gary, Indiana was built in 1910, just four years after the city was founded. The station is located between the elevated lines of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Built in a Beaux-Arts style utilizing the new cast-in-place concrete methods in which, after pouring, the concrete was scored to resemble stone. Indiana Landmarks has placed the building on its 10 Most Endangered Places in Indiana list. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

Location

The building faces west on Broadway. Because it sits between two raised rail lines, it is nearly invisible until one is next to it. The only sign still visible inside or outside the building is a painted notice on the front pillar that says “No Parking Cabs Only”. The method of construction has retained its integrity after 50 years of abandonment.

Interior

The New York Central's eastbound New York Special at Gary Union Station, February 1963

The main room is a two stories hall. At the east end of the hall is a staircase to the loading platform on the upper level. Built into a hill, the building is only a single story in the back. A door on the south side leads from a cobblestone driveway. Across the drive is a staircase built up to track level along the south side. On the north there is a tunnel under the tracks to a stairway up to the loading platform.

Noteworthy passenger trains

• Baltimore and Ohio:
  • Capitol Limited (Chicago-Washington)
  • Columbian (Chicago-Jersey City, after 1958, Baltimore)
  • Shenandoah (Chicago-Jersey City, after 1958, Baltimore)
  • Washington - Chicago Express (Chicago-Washington)

Legacy

Successor stations in the vicinity today are the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District's Gary Metro Center and its Gary Airport station, both on the South Shore Line. Amtrak's Hammond–Whiting station (Wolverine) is to the west in Hammond.