Fort Wayne, IN | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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General information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 221 Baker Street,
Fort Wayne,
Indiana USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
History | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Opened | March 23, 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Closed | November 11, 1990 [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former services | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pennsylvania Railroad Station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | 221 West Baker Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°4′20″N 85°8′26″W / 41.07222°N 85.14056°W | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Built | 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architect | George B. Swift & Co., William L. Price | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Architectural style | American Craftsman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NRHP reference No. | 98001056 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Added to NRHP | 1998 |
The Pennsylvania Railroad Station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, also known as Baker Street Station, is a former passenger rail station in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. The American Craftsman-style station opened to the public March 23, 1914, at a cost of $550,000. [3] [4]
The station saw its most heavy usage during World War II, when about 3,000 visitors passed through the station daily. [3] The station was also frequented by politicians on whistle stop train tours, including U.S. Presidents Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower. [3] Until 1957 a Grand Rapids originating branch of the Pennsylvania Railroad's Chicago-Florida Southland made a stop in at the station, and picked up passengers from a connecting Wabash Railroad train from Detroit, Michigan. [5] [6] Until 1961 the PRR's Cincinnati, Ohio- Mackinaw City, Michigan Northern Arrow also made a stop there, and picked up connecting passenger rail cars from Chicago. [7] Until 1971 the Penn Central ran the Broadway Limited and several other Chicago- New York City passenger trains, Admiral, Manhattan Limited and Pennsylvania Limited through the station. [8]
In the second half of the 20th century, the station served as a stop on Amtrak's Broadway Limited (Chicago—Pittsburgh—New York) and Capitol Limited (Chicago–Pittsburgh–Washington) lines until November 1990 when Amtrak was forced to reroute about 25 miles (40 km) north of Fort Wayne. [9] The nearest active passenger train station is Waterloo (for the Capitol Limited), 32 miles to the north.
Today, Baker Street Station's concourse is used as a banquet hall and community events space, [10] while the east and west wings have been converted into office space. [3] Over the last decade, residents and local leaders have begun a movement to bring passenger rail service back to the city and station in the form of Amtrak or other high-speed rail service. [11]
Although the station has been without passenger rail service for over 30 years, it has remained a landmark to the city, designated a Fort Wayne Local Historic District in 1990. [12] and later, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998 as the Pennsylvania Railroad Station. [2]