(GateHouse News Service circulated the following story by Mike Ramsey on August 11.)
CHICAGO — With its marble floors, Corinthian columns and soaring barrel-vaulted ceiling of glass, the Great Hall of Chicago’s Union Station has served as a hub for train travelers since opening in 1925, when passenger rail was approaching its zenith in the United States.
But today, the cavernous interior used to great effect in a shootout scene in 1987’s “The Untouchables” is relatively quiet and slightly run-down.
That is expected to change, with the advancing plans being pushed by a team of redevelopers and Amtrak, which owns the Great Hall.
If all goes well for them, the beaux arts structure at Canal Street and Jackson Boulevard — technically known as the “Headhouse” building of the larger Union Station complex — will get an 18-floor addition on top and become a mixed-use center with offices, residences, hotel rooms, retail space and restaurants.
The project could cost $457 million.
Passenger-rail advocates are cautious about the plan. They say the Great Hall’s earlier purpose as a haven for train riders should not get lost among the bells and whistles of the project.
Rick Harnish, the Chicago-based rail advocate who last year helped to convince lawmakers to double Amtrak service within Illinois, is critical of the way the Great Hall now is used — or to him, underused. He said Amtrak passengers effectively have been nudged to the railroad’s newer, but frequently crowded, boarding lounge.
The lounge and Amtrak service booths are located east of the Great Hall, under a modern high-rise that replaced a Headhouse companion structure known as the Concourse.
Occasionally, Harnish said, the Great Hall is cleared of its benches, forcing travelers who want to wait there to plop down on the floor like “hobos.”
“The room is screaming, ‘Passenger trains are going away,’ ” said Harnish, executive director of the Midwest High Speed Rail Association. “It’s like they’ve had a going-out-of-business sale.”
He said he would like to see amenities in the Great Hall that include bathrooms, retail stalls, ticket booths and easy-to-read status reports of train arrivals and departures. Currently, there is a central kiosk with small electronic monitors that relay schedule information about Amtrak and Metra, the suburban commuter rail system that uses another portion of Union Station.
A resolution passed earlier this year by directors of the National Association of Railroad Passengers in Washington expressed alarm that the Great Hall may be “converted to retail space in a manner that renders it unusable for train passengers.”
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said that fear is unfounded. He said the Great Hall redevelopment would include improvements, including climate controls, geared toward waiting travelers.
Amtrak passengers approached Wednesday in the Great Hall indicated they don’t think the space needs much more to make it inviting to travelers.
“The No. 1 thing is air conditioning,” said Allan Henderson, of Kearny, N.J., a retired letter carrier. “Retail — I couldn’t care less.”
Sheila Stafford, of Janesville, Wis., said displaying some information about the history of the building would be nice. Anything more than that might make the hall cluttered, she said.
“I just like to see the beauty of the building,” Stafford said.