Glenview, IL (GLN)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$1,648,303

Station Ridership

FY 2011

70,494

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Built in 1994, the station on Glenview’s west side is an example of the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. It is constructed of red masonry with a stone base and features a clock tower and broadly arched portico, making the facility easily identifiable. Additionally, it possesses a slate roof; timber beam cathedral ceiling; period lighting; and copper flashing, gutters and downspouts. The grounds are adorned with brick pavers on the platforms, antique-style lampposts, a retaining wall made of modular block and many plantings.

As early as 1990, the village of Glenview had made a comprehensive plan that included a new train station as part of downtown redevelopment efforts. While it was not considered an eyesore, their 1950s-era station was not completely sound mechanically. An architectural study of the old building showed that a new structure wouldn’t cost much more than renovating the older one.

By 1993, Metra, the owner of the land on which the station stood, had committed $1.3 million toward a new depot, platforms, and features that included improved lighting and more efficient passenger drop-off facilities. At that time, the village set aside $300,000 of income tax surcharge funds, and Amtrak and the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) each pledged $200,000. Metra commissioned Legat Architects of Waukegan to design a traditional-looking modern building that would fill the needs of commuters. The new station opened in March, 1995, and the old commuter station demolished.

The project was funded from a number of sources, with Metra contributing $2.1 million in total. The Illinois Department of Transportation’s Operation Greenlight project (geared to easing traffic congestion) contributed $442,000. Amtrak contributed more than $300,000. The village of Glenview added $329,000 to the rehabilitation; the Glenview funding was used for aesthetic touches, a coffee shop, and under floor heating.

It is an attractive station in a busy downtown, but growth in Amtrak and Metra ridership has resulted in a building that is too small for current passenger counts and traffic congestion. For that reason, Amtrak and IDOT are considering a plan to move the Amtrak stop to another station also used by Metra, north of downtown Glenview. The station would have more parking and other space for Amtrak passengers, with funding provided by the Illinois General Assembly.

The area that would become Glenview had been settled by mound-building Native Americans long before the European settlers arrived in the 1830s. After the 1833 Treaty of Chicago, when the remaining native dwellers relinquished their lands, many more settlers arrived from Fort Dearborn (Chicago) to farm this land near Lake Michigan. The Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad constructed its line through the town subsequent to the 1871Chicago fire, opening opportunities for manufacturing and the delivery of farm products to the city. Glenview was incorporated on June 20, 1899.

The Naval Air Station Glenview was a major military presence in the area from 1923 to 1995, when it was closed. The air base primarily operated seaplanes on nearby Lake Michigan and later, P-3 Orions, stationed there as a staging point for Anti-submarine warfare against Soviet submarines. The former air base has now been redeveloped into a residential subdivision and commercial area called The Glen, although the control tower has been preserved as a historic building. The village managed the overall redevelopment, which was funded in part by IDOT, which contributed more than $2.5 million for engineering work and the construction of a new Metra station that Amtrak could share with Metra, after some additional improvement.

The Hiawatha Service is financed primarily through funds made available by the Illinois and Wisconsin State Departments of Transportation.

This facility has a waiting room and is staffed by Amtrak employees. Amtrak provides ticketing but not help with baggage at the Glenview station, which is served by 14 daily trains.