Opened in 1913, Union Depot (also known as Bloomington Depot) was located just south of West Washington Street on the west side of the Chicago & Alton Railroad tracks. In 1979, this line was used by Amtrak for passenger service but owned by Illinois Central Gulf Railroad. Today this mainline is still used by Amtrak but the owner is Union Pacific Railroad.
Union Depot’s interior is seen here in December 1979 after completion of the first phase of a $382,000 renovation project. The grand old depot remained in service for another decade, with the last train stopping on June 10, 1990. Its successor, a much-smaller Normal passenger station, served as the Twin Cities' depot until the opening, directly across the tracks, of the 63,000-square-foot "multi-modal" Uptown Station in 2012. A partly demolished west side Union Depot was burned out in a 1997 Halloween fire. Today, Constitution Trail gently curves through the old site
