Terminal Town: An Illustrated Guide to Chicago's Airports, Bus Depots, Train Stations, and Steamship Landings, 1939 - Present

by Joseph P. Schwieterman

Whether by road, rail, water, or sky . . . people come to Chicago. In droves. In waves of migration and immigration. For work and for play. But how do they get to Chicago? Terminal Town answers this question with a fast-moving history of Chicago’s many passenger transportation terminals. These have, for generations, served as defining features of the city’s cosmopolitan character. Showcasing great icons of transportation, including Chicago’s Union Station, Dearborn Station, and Midway and O’Hare airports, as well as lesser-known and long-gone terminals throughout the metropolitan region, this book illustrates why the Windy City so richly deserves its reputation as America’s premier travel hub. Featuring 48 stations and terminals through short narrative, 215 color photographs, and 20 custom maps, Terminal Town provides a fascinating portrait of the city’s famously complex and constantly changing transportation system.

300 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2014

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun read. The opening section on downtown Chicago railroad terminals had a decent overview intro but the rundowns of individual terminals gets way too dense with stats, the author using them as the primary (and sometime sole) vehicle for providing context. That was an unfortunate decision. It became something of a slog to get through a section that should've provided the most excitement. However, in later sections on outlying stations, bus, steamship, and air transportation, the author applied a lighter touch with the stats and talked more about the political, corporate, and social environments that shaped things- an approach that allowed the stories of the places to emerge. There's a wealth of great photos and graphics, and that alone is worth the price of admission. Recommended.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thorough overview of transportation history in Chicago

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty good overview. Like other local books, it would help a reader that didn't know the area or history if there was a little more context on some things. There were a few typos.