Take A Look At Union Station's $22M Skylight & Great Hall Renovation, Now In Progress

By Stephen Gossett in News on Sep 27, 2017 5:54PM

Chicago's iconic Union Station is the focus of major, $1 billion, six-year modernization, with fancy new retail space and a possible hotel off on the horizon. But we're just as thrilled about the preservationist components as any other overhauls. Case in point: the $22 million restoration of the station's Great Hall and grand, arched skylight.

Amtrak, which is funding the restoration, announced on Monday that renovation work has officially begun in the Hall. Architect Goettsch Partners and contractor Berglund Construction have brought in a crane, erected along Clinton Street, to shuttle construction materials in hopes of minimizing disruption to passengers. (Only Penn Station in New York, Union Station in Washington D.C., and the 30th Street Station Philadelphia see more foot traffic than Chicago's Union Station, among Amtrak stations.) The clever plan also incorporates "a suspended working deck and swing stages," rather than emphasizing scaffolding, according to Amtrak.

The skylight upgrade will see a new skylight constructed above the original, to help remedy its notorious passers-by-splashing, drainage issues. Amtrak estimates that 50 percent more natural light will splash into the hall, as thick, wire-embedded glass is swapped out for slim, efficient contemporary panes. Phased painting and plaster fixes inside the Hall will follow.

The full Great Hall renovation is expected to be completed late next year.

While we enjoy the overhaul, you can also take in this animated-video overview of the project, replete with appropriately dramatic post-rock-esque soundtrack, which Amtrak shared.

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A Brief History Of The Architecturally Imposing, Soon-To-Be-Revamped Union Station