Nothing inspires me more than the fabulous architecture of my beloved hometown Chicago, and though almost 100% of my fiction is set here, I have yet to create a scene in one of the city’s architectural treasures, the iconic Union Station. It’s my favorite train station; its Great Hall has been used as the backdrop for many movies and television shows.
Call me a weirdo, but I hang out at Union Station. Now to be clear, I’ve traveled on Amtrak enough to justify it. I prefer train travel over air. Having mostly a calm demeanor, I’ve never balked about the time it takes to travel by train vs plane, many times purposely choosing the lower maintenance travel of the rail. Often I’ve taken the notoriously delayed Lakeshore Limited between Chicago and New York City, or the more reliable Capitol Limited from Chicago to Washington D.C. Other routes I’m familiar with are: Hiawatha service between Chicago and Milwaukee and the Illinois Service route that travels downstate to Gateway Station in St. Louis.
The slower pace of train travel is perfect for social beings that love to mingle with traveling strangers. I vividly recall a train trip, traveling from Chicago to New York and meeting the adventurous Matias. He had been visiting Chicago from Santiago Chile. I met him at the gate and we had great conversation. The train was filled to capacity and when we boarded, he’d either sit with me or a woman that easily took up two seats. Luckily, Matias led us quickly to one other empty seat where we sat together and bonded easily for our 22 hour, delayed journey to Manhattan. A few weeks later, having settled back in my Queens apartment I received a beautiful postcard of Santiago from Matias. He is someone I never forgot traveling by train.
I miss the bar and cafeteria style restaurant that was right off the Great Hall. Unfortunately it closed. I can’t remember the name, but enjoyed having a beer and shot there and talking to passengers from all over and commuters traveling on Chicago’s massive commuter line, The Metra. I now hang out upstairs at the Junction Bar. Rumor has it that a fancier food hall is coming to Union Station. I’ll keep you posted.
The Untouchables Stairs:
Brian DePalma’s epic Chicago shot movie, The Untouchables in 1987 made the long stairs in the Great Hall iconic and a tourist attraction in its own right. Filmed in slow motion, an innocent woman was making her way through the station with her small baby in a carriage. Somehow she lost her grip on it and the carriage started to roll down the stairs, dangerously on its own and a violent shootout amongst gangsters started in the midst. When I first saw this scene my eyes were glued on the big screen. Oh my God! What’s going to happen to the baby?! I was thinking it would surely lose its life as the carriage would topple over down the stairs or the baby would take a bullet from the shootout occurring around it. Watching it was so upsetting, but I couldn’t take my eyes off which is what good movie making and storytelling is all about. Fortunately, Kevin Kostner’s Elliott Ness was able to save the moment. Not only did he take down the bad guys, but he was also able to grab the carriage before it crashed down the stairs, saving the baby. Loved it!
Just now, at the close of this post, I’m feeling inspired to come up with a story I can set in Union Station. Whatever the story, I doubt it will have the amount of action as The Untouchables, well, maybe LOL.
