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 Michigan
Central Station (also known as Michigan Central Depot or MCS), built in 1913 for
the Michigan Central Railroad, was Detroit, Michigan's passenger rail depot from
its opening in 1913, when the previous Michigan Central Station burned, until
the last Amtrak train pulled away from the station on January 6, 1988. The
building, located in the Corktown district of Detroit near Tiger Stadium and the
Ambassador Bridge about two miles southwest of downtown Detroit, still stands
today, though it remains unoccupied. It was added to the National Register of
Historic Places in 1975. Reports of restoration projects and plans have gone as
far as the negotiation process, but none have come to fruition. Restoration of
the historic Book-Cadillac Hotel and the Michigan Central Station are seen as
important projects for the economic development of the City of Detroit.
The unfinished building began operating as Detroit's main passenger depot in
1913 after the older Michigan Central Station burned on December 26, 1913. It
was begun earlier as part of a much larger project that involved the Michigan
Central Railway Tunnel below the Detroit River for freight and passengers. The
old station was slated to be replaced by the new Michigan Central to place the
passenger service on the main line. The old station had been located on a spur
line, which was inconvenient for the volume of passenger service that was being
served.
The growing trend toward increased automobile use was not a large concern in
1913, as is evidenced in the design of the building. Most passengers would
arrive at and leave from Michigan Central Station by interurban service or
streetcar and not as pedestrians due to the station's remote distance from
downtown Detroit. The reason for the placement this far from downtown was a hope
that the station would be an anchor for prosperity to follow. Initially, things
were looking up as Henry Ford began to buy land near the station in the 1920s
and plans were made, but the Great Depression and other circumstances squelched
the development efforts. Further compounding MCS's future problems was the fact
that no large parking facility was included in the original design of the
facility. So when the interurban service was discontinued not even two decades
after MCS opened and streetcar service following in 1938, MCS was effectively
isolated from a large majority of the population.
However, even with fewer means to get to and from the station, passenger volume
did not decrease immediately. During World War II, the station saw heavy
military use, but once the war ended, passenger volume began to decline. Service
was cut back and passenger traffic became so low that the owners of the station
attempted to sell the facility in 1956 for $5 million, one-third of its original
building cost in 1913. Another attempt to sell the building occurred in 1963,
but again there were no buyers. In 1967, costs to maintain the large main
waiting room were too high for the decreasing passenger volume and it, along
with the park entrance, arcade shops, and restaurant was closed.
Things began to look better for the building when Amtrak took over the nation's
passenger rail service in 1971. The main waiting room and entrance were reopened
in 1975 and a $1.25 million renovation projects was begun in 1978. Only 6 years
later, the building was sold for a transportation center project that never
materialized. Then, on January 6, 1988, the last Amtrak train pulled away from
the station after it was decided to close the facility.
The property has changed hands several times after the 1984 deal, once even
selling for less than $80,000. It is now owned by Controlled Terminals Inc.
Another transportation company, the Detroit International Bridge Co., owns the
nearby Ambassador Bridge. Both companies are owned by the same businessman, M.J.
Moroun.
Source: Wikipedia
Detroit's Michigan Cental Station (book)
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