1889 Design for GR Union station. Yes, this is not the design the GR&I built in 1900, but here's an image from the Detroit Public Library Burton collection. At first, I couldn't believe it was Grand Rapids, since it looks so much like the Michigan Central Depots built around 1888 -- see Ann Arbor, Battle Creek, Niles -- but the lettering above the door and the caption on the picture confirms. Now, there was a major GR&I upgrade in Grand Rapids circa 1890, with a train shed and a new bridge over the Grand River, but they must have considered not building the shed, but putting up a bigger, fancier depot instead. Since this is a trackside view, I presume no train shed was included in this design.
As it was, the 1871 GR&I depot soldiered on another 10 years next to the new train shed, and the depot built to replace it was the one seen in postcards.
Thanks to the person who posted the link to the Burton Collection. This amazes me.
Thanks
Peter
conford
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