Chicago Union Station
The Chicago Union Station opened in 1925, replacing an earlier station on this site built in 1881. It is the second by that name built in Chicago, and possibly the third rail station to occupy the site. The station is the fourth-busiest rail terminal in the United States, after Pennsylvania Station, Grand Central Terminal, and Jamaica station in New York City. It is Amtrak's overall fourth-busiest station, and the busiest outside of its Northeast Corridor. It handles about 140,000 passengers on an average weekday (including 10,000 Amtrak passengers) and is one of Chicago's most iconic structures, reflecting the city's strong architectural heritage and historic achievements. It has Bedford limestone Beaux-Arts facades, massive Corinthian columns, marble floors, and a Great Hall, all highlighted by brass lamps.
Chicago Union Station is named a union station, like many train stations across the United States that were shared by several railroad companies.
The Great Hall
At the building's center is the Great Hall, a 110-foot (34 m)-high atrium capped by a large barrel-vaulted skylight. The 24,000-square-foot (2,200 m2) room has connecting lobbies, staircases, and balconies. Enormous wooden benches are arranged in the room for travelers to wait for connections. The room's columns are of textured Roman travertine marble, with leafy golden Corinthian capitals. The ceilings and insets are coffered, with decorative rosettes.
Two statues by Henry Hering —Night and Day — look down on passengers, symbolizing the 24-hour operation of the railroads. The statue Night holds an owl, while Day holds a rooster.
The 2 stairways to the east were featured in the stairway shootout scene in the 1987 movie, The Untouchables.
From 2018 to 2019, a $22 million restoration of the Great Hall, including restoring original detailing and rebuilding the large skylight, was completed, increasing natural light by 50 to 60 percent. The skylight, originally built in the 1920s, suffered from decades of harsh weather, leading to countless patchwork repairs, many of which blocked light from entering the Great Hall. The 2018–19 renovation restored the historic skylight to its original appearance, and added another glass skylight atop it. The new skylight is better-designed to prevent water and snow damage, and increases light entering the Great Hall.
To claim this cache
Include a photo of one of the following in your log, clearly showing that you are in the Great Hall.
- A photo of yourself or your group (face shots are optional, you can choose one below if you don't want to show your face)
- A photo of your GPS, or a smartphone with your geocaching app open, or a travel bug (face not required)
- A photo of you holding a piece of paper with your caching name (face not required)
Come on, you know the rules. Should be easy, you must be there to claim a find. Logs from any photos not taken in the Great Hall with one of the above mentioned will be deleted. If you like where this virtual brought you, give it a favorite point so more Virtual Caches will have the potential to be released.
If youre around in December, check out the life sized Polar Express train in the Great Hall.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.