Dredging the Archives - Christmas Shopping Trip to Chicago on Amtrak in 1972

Robert Pence · #1 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 2:26 AM**

Chicago Christmas Shopping
The Day after Thanksgiving, 1972

All Photos Copyright © 2009 by Robert E Pence

Grainy Ektachromes, probably ISO 64 or maybe even 32.

Arriving at Fort Wayne's former Pennsylvania Railroad Station on Baker Street to board Amtrak's perversion of the former great Broadway Limited.

Fairly busy waiting room

The train's arrival has been announced, and we head for the platform

No yellow line to stand behind

Here it is!

Breakfast in the diner.

A newspaper in the lounge - on the right, notice the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

Finish out the ride in a coach seat.

Arriving at Chicago Union Station on Amtrak. Still a few privately-owned steam locomotives sitting around. The one with the silver-painted boiler is a Heisler geared locomotive. Those typically were used where pulling power and the ability to operate effectively over rough, uneven track were valued but speed wasn't, like logging and quarrying.

Union Station's Great Hall was grimy, then. The current bright and clean appearance was the product of a cleanup and restoration following a major fire in July 1980 that killed one person and injured several others.

What they razed in the late 1960s and replaced with the sterile, claustrophobic space pictured above; the photo was taken in the early 1950s by Jeraldine C. Baumgartner. M.D., of Fort Wayne, IN.

The architectural travesty for which the classic passenger concourse was razed

Marshall Field, traditionally decorated for the season

Shoppers throng State Street

Michigan Avenue

Commerce on the river

Back to Union Station and Amtrak to Fort Wayne

This is almost ten years before the Superliners went into service. The bi-level cars are former Santa Fe.

OfCourse · #2 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 2:40 AM**

Holy cow! These are awesome. I love to see how things were back in the day. Thanks for posting!

ArchMadness · #3 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 3:06 AM**

Wow...what a set! It's so cool to see old photos. Your photos have so much character. I love film.

fflint · #4 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 3:57 AM**

So very cool. That's what I consider a high standard of living.

sentinel · #5 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 4:38 AM**

Oh Robert, thank you so much - those pictures are amazing!
Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all

xzmattzx · #6 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 5:25 AM**

Nice pictures. It's interesting to see how things were almost 40 years ago.

the urban politician · #7 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 7:05 AM**

A photo set from 1972! Wow, I'm speechless, what an amazing set. Thank you for sharing an experience with the large number of us who hadn't even been born yet.

FREKI · #8 Posted **Dec 25, 2009, 7:23 AM**

Great stuff - thanks for sharing!

sabino86 · #9 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 5:37 AM**

Awesome nostalgia at its finest...

KevinFromTexas · #10 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 2:49 PM**

Great thread, Rob. Interesting stuff as always. Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob_1412

Diana Ross and George C. Scott! How cool is that? Also checkout the huge antenna atop Marina City. That thing was a monster.

rockyi · #11 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 3:35 PM**

1972 seems like just yesterday.
Thanks for sharing these great photos!

tulip city madman · #12 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 4:09 PM**

What a fantastic time machine, you just made my day! I think this shot is my favorite! The warehouses and storage tanks are long gone replaced by high end condos, but the former Hotel St. Clair (right center of the picture) is still there in the guise of Inn of Chicago, where I proposed to my girlfriend in a 10th floor corner room in 1989.

LSyd · #13 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 4:39 PM**

awesome pics, thanks so much.

-

boden · #14 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 4:48 PM**

Excellent thread Robert...to us older forumers it doesn't seem that long ago, but these photos show a very different world! To think that none of these people would have any idea what a PC was!
Thanks for posting.

Tom In Chicago · #15 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 6:29 PM**

Cool photos. . . nice details. . .

Totu · #16 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 6:34 PM**

Very nice album. I liked it very much!

OhioGuy · #17 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 6:37 PM**

Very enjoyable, Rob! Too bad Amtrak doesn't have service between Fort Wayne and Chicago these days... though it sounds like high speed rail will once again connect the two cities in the future (Chicago to Fort Wayne to Toledo).

plinko · #18 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 7:02 PM**

These were incredible.

KevinFromTexas · #19 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 10:52 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by boden

Excellent thread Robert...to us older forumers it doesn't seem that long ago, but these photos show a very different world! To think that none of these people would have any idea what a PC was!
Thanks for posting.

I love photos like these. He basically froze time with them. It's neat, and funny too, noting people's appearance then. Checkout those old Samsonite suitcases!

Robert Pence · #20 Posted **Dec 26, 2009, 11:04 PM**

Thanks, all. I'm delighted that so many people have enjoyed them so much.

Check out the guy walking in the center of the 4th photo -- double-breasted blazer that looks like it may be suede; turtleneck; haircut & moustache perfect; gold chain around his neck with a big gold medallion hanging clear down to his navel. In 1972, he was the most stylish guy in the place.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OhioGuy

Very enjoyable, Rob! Too bad Amtrak doesn't have service between Fort Wayne and Chicago these days... though it sounds like high speed rail will once again connect the two cities in the future (Chicago to Fort Wayne to Toledo).

I think the first thing they're shooting for is 79mph service, or maybe as fast as 110mph, with multiple daily trips. While not true high-speed rail, they're fast trains. I'd happily use them if they run predictably on time, instead of driving almost 120 miles to ride the South Shore to Chicago. I can catch the Lake Shore Limited at Waterloo, only about 20 miles away, but the timing is so unreliable that I can't use it to keep appointments.