Union Railroad Station looking southeast in Illinois Street, Indianapolis, Indiana
1919 postmarked postcard view of Illinois Street and Union Station in Indianapolis, Indiana. This view was looking southeast from the west side of Illinois Street. The dark area in the street near the lower right-hand corner of the postcard was where Illinois Street began its descent into the tunnel under the railroad tracks at Union Station. The Indianapolis Union Railway Company (successor to the Union Railway Company) owned and managed Union Station. The company also managed the Belt Railway facilities in Indianapolis.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company published a multi-volume history in 1900. One volume was devoted to legal and financial matters, including early Indianapolis ordinances relating to their corporate activities in the city.¹ The railroad companies kept the city very busy issuing ordinances, and some of those ordnances help us understand the history of Union Station.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA TERMINALS GENERAL ORDINANCES
AN ORDINANCE
In relation to the Construction and Connection of Railroads through the City of Indianapolis. Approved March 12, 1849. Section 1. Be it ordained by the common council of the city of Indianapolis, That before any track for a railroad shall be allowed to be laid down or maintained along or across the streets of this city which lie within the streets named, east, west, north and south, it shall be requisite for the commissioners or other persons desirous of locating such track to file their petition, in writing, with the city council, setting forth distinctly the route of such railroad.
Ordinance book No. 2, 1839-1857, page 105. Sections 1260-1264.
INDIANAPOLIS UNION RAILWAY COMPANY
AN ORDINANCE
In relation to the Union Railway Track. Passed April 1, 1850. Section 1. Be it ordained by the common council of the city of Indianapolis, That in accordance with a petition presented by Thomas A. Morris, engineer, on behalf of the Terre Haute and Richmond, Indianapolis and Bellefontaine, Peru and Indianapolis, and Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Companies, they, or any three of them, shall be permitted to construct within the limits of the city of Indianapolis, immediately upon the north bank of Pogue's Run, from Washington street to Meridian Street, and to cross the run at any point they wish, their Union Railroad track connecting the depots of the several roads named, as shown by a plat of said Union track, recorded in the recorder's office of Marion County, said road to be twenty-five feet wide and to cross the following streets, to wit: Massachusetts Avenue, New York, Market, Noble, Washington, East New Jersey, Alabama, Virginia Avenue, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Meridian, Illinois, and Tennessee, Streets, and the several alleys upon the following conditions.
Ordinance book 1839-1857, page 125. Section 1537.
RESOLUTION
Permitting the erection of a General Passenger Depot. Passed June 14, 1852. Resolved, That permission be hereby granted to the several railroad companies interested in the “General Passenger Depot” to build said depot, so as to occupy not more than fifteen feet of the south side of Louisiana street between Meridian and Illinois streets: Provided, the said companies cause to be opened a new street from Illinois to Meridian street, seventy-five feet wide, on the south side of said depot, and erect a good and substantial bridge across the creek on said new street; which said new street shall be opened by 1st October, 1852, and, when opened, shall be and remain a public street for the benefit of the city.
(Record of Proceedings Common Council No. 2, page 391.) Section 1538.
The General Passenger Depot authorized by that 1852 resolution opened in 1853 as the Union Passenger Depot. It was the first union station in the world and was expanded a few times over the next three decades. In 1881, a New York City newspaper reported, “Indianapolis is the largest city in the United States not situated on navigable water. It has eleven active railroads and two that will be finished within a year, and it is this that gives it the title of Railroad City. Its railroad interests are the most extensive in the country, being increased by a belt road thirteen miles in length, which runs entirely around it and connects the various trunk lines.”²
After the Indiana State Legislature took the necessary action in 1885 to facilitate construction of Union Station, several city ordinances were passed in 1886 relating to the Indianapolis Union Railway Company’s “… new Union Passenger Depot that said company is about to build.” Plans for the new Union Station were completed in 1886 and the new station was completed in 1888. The negotiations between the railroad and the city relating to the new depot also led to the construction of the Virginia Avenue Viaduct.
“A notable achievement of Mayor Sullivan’s administration was the construction of the Virginia avenue viaduct. For several years there had been great complaint over the division of the city north and south by tracks, but no feasible form of relief appeared until 1886 when the railroad companies desired to construct the new Union Station. This necessitated the closing of Illinois street and some other street vacation, in compensation for which the Union company [Indianapolis Union Railway Company] agreed to pay $30,000 towards the construction of a tunnel under the tracks at Illinois street, and to build a viaduct over the tracks in the first alley east of Meridian street …. The work on the tunnel was begun promptly, and on May 7, 1888, the City Engineer reported it complete except bowldering [bouldering] the north approach, which had been omitted because the company desired to asphalt it. The viaduct dragged. Suits were brought …. After Mr. Sullivan became mayor he took up the matter with the railroad authorities …. [T]hey came to an agreement for a concentration of tracks at Virginia avenue—removing those formerly on Louisiana street—and a viaduct … was completed in the summer of 1892.”³
The Illinois Street Tunnel and the Virginia Avenue Viaduct solved some of the transportation headaches that the railroads caused in the city and the new station could handle the rapidly growing passenger volume.
1. S. H. Church, Assistant Secretary, Corporate History of the Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh, Volume 8 (Baltimore, MD: The Friedenwald Company, 1900), pages 196-214. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=s6spAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
2. "The Capital of Indiana," The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper, Fourth Edition, Friday, November 4, 1881 (New York, NY: Graphic Co., 1881), page 30.
3. Jacob Piatt Dunn, Greater Indianapolis: The History, the Industries, the Institutions, and the People of a City of Homes, Volume I (Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Co., 1910), pages 418-419. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=chsVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
From the Prange collection.
Copyright 2009-2016 by Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This image is part of a creative package that includes the associated text, geodata and/or other information. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.
Union Railroad Station looking southeast in Illinois Street, Indianapolis, Indiana
1919 postmarked postcard view of Illinois Street and Union Station in Indianapolis, Indiana. This view was looking southeast from the west side of Illinois Street. The dark area in the street near the lower right-hand corner of the postcard was where Illinois Street began its descent into the tunnel under the railroad tracks at Union Station. The Indianapolis Union Railway Company (successor to the Union Railway Company) owned and managed Union Station. The company also managed the Belt Railway facilities in Indianapolis.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company published a multi-volume history in 1900. One volume was devoted to legal and financial matters, including early Indianapolis ordinances relating to their corporate activities in the city.¹ The railroad companies kept the city very busy issuing ordinances, and some of those ordnances help us understand the history of Union Station.
INDIANAPOLIS INDIANA TERMINALS GENERAL ORDINANCES
AN ORDINANCE
In relation to the Construction and Connection of Railroads through the City of Indianapolis. Approved March 12, 1849. Section 1. Be it ordained by the common council of the city of Indianapolis, That before any track for a railroad shall be allowed to be laid down or maintained along or across the streets of this city which lie within the streets named, east, west, north and south, it shall be requisite for the commissioners or other persons desirous of locating such track to file their petition, in writing, with the city council, setting forth distinctly the route of such railroad.
Ordinance book No. 2, 1839-1857, page 105. Sections 1260-1264.
INDIANAPOLIS UNION RAILWAY COMPANY
AN ORDINANCE
In relation to the Union Railway Track. Passed April 1, 1850. Section 1. Be it ordained by the common council of the city of Indianapolis, That in accordance with a petition presented by Thomas A. Morris, engineer, on behalf of the Terre Haute and Richmond, Indianapolis and Bellefontaine, Peru and Indianapolis, and Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Companies, they, or any three of them, shall be permitted to construct within the limits of the city of Indianapolis, immediately upon the north bank of Pogue's Run, from Washington street to Meridian Street, and to cross the run at any point they wish, their Union Railroad track connecting the depots of the several roads named, as shown by a plat of said Union track, recorded in the recorder's office of Marion County, said road to be twenty-five feet wide and to cross the following streets, to wit: Massachusetts Avenue, New York, Market, Noble, Washington, East New Jersey, Alabama, Virginia Avenue, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Meridian, Illinois, and Tennessee, Streets, and the several alleys upon the following conditions.
Ordinance book 1839-1857, page 125. Section 1537.
RESOLUTION
Permitting the erection of a General Passenger Depot. Passed June 14, 1852. Resolved, That permission be hereby granted to the several railroad companies interested in the “General Passenger Depot” to build said depot, so as to occupy not more than fifteen feet of the south side of Louisiana street between Meridian and Illinois streets: Provided, the said companies cause to be opened a new street from Illinois to Meridian street, seventy-five feet wide, on the south side of said depot, and erect a good and substantial bridge across the creek on said new street; which said new street shall be opened by 1st October, 1852, and, when opened, shall be and remain a public street for the benefit of the city.
(Record of Proceedings Common Council No. 2, page 391.) Section 1538.
The General Passenger Depot authorized by that 1852 resolution opened in 1853 as the Union Passenger Depot. It was the first union station in the world and was expanded a few times over the next three decades. In 1881, a New York City newspaper reported, “Indianapolis is the largest city in the United States not situated on navigable water. It has eleven active railroads and two that will be finished within a year, and it is this that gives it the title of Railroad City. Its railroad interests are the most extensive in the country, being increased by a belt road thirteen miles in length, which runs entirely around it and connects the various trunk lines.”²
After the Indiana State Legislature took the necessary action in 1885 to facilitate construction of Union Station, several city ordinances were passed in 1886 relating to the Indianapolis Union Railway Company’s “… new Union Passenger Depot that said company is about to build.” Plans for the new Union Station were completed in 1886 and the new station was completed in 1888. The negotiations between the railroad and the city relating to the new depot also led to the construction of the Virginia Avenue Viaduct.
“A notable achievement of Mayor Sullivan’s administration was the construction of the Virginia avenue viaduct. For several years there had been great complaint over the division of the city north and south by tracks, but no feasible form of relief appeared until 1886 when the railroad companies desired to construct the new Union Station. This necessitated the closing of Illinois street and some other street vacation, in compensation for which the Union company [Indianapolis Union Railway Company] agreed to pay $30,000 towards the construction of a tunnel under the tracks at Illinois street, and to build a viaduct over the tracks in the first alley east of Meridian street …. The work on the tunnel was begun promptly, and on May 7, 1888, the City Engineer reported it complete except bowldering [bouldering] the north approach, which had been omitted because the company desired to asphalt it. The viaduct dragged. Suits were brought …. After Mr. Sullivan became mayor he took up the matter with the railroad authorities …. [T]hey came to an agreement for a concentration of tracks at Virginia avenue—removing those formerly on Louisiana street—and a viaduct … was completed in the summer of 1892.”³
The Illinois Street Tunnel and the Virginia Avenue Viaduct solved some of the transportation headaches that the railroads caused in the city and the new station could handle the rapidly growing passenger volume.
1. S. H. Church, Assistant Secretary, Corporate History of the Pennsylvania Lines West of Pittsburgh, Volume 8 (Baltimore, MD: The Friedenwald Company, 1900), pages 196-214. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=s6spAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
2. "The Capital of Indiana," The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper, Fourth Edition, Friday, November 4, 1881 (New York, NY: Graphic Co., 1881), page 30.
3. Jacob Piatt Dunn, Greater Indianapolis: The History, the Industries, the Institutions, and the People of a City of Homes, Volume I (Chicago, IL: Lewis Publishing Co., 1910), pages 418-419. Available online at books.google.com/books?id=chsVAAAAYAAJ&printsec=front....
From the Prange collection.
Copyright 2009-2016 by Hoosier Recollections. All rights reserved. This image is part of a creative package that includes the associated text, geodata and/or other information. Neither this package in its entirety nor any of the individual components may be downloaded, transmitted or reproduced without the prior written permission of Hoosier Recollections.