| Style: | Amtrak | ||||||||||||||||||
| Style2: | Amtrak old | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fort Wayne, IN | |||||||||||||||||||
| Address: | 221 Baker Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Country: | USA | ||||||||||||||||||
| Opened: | March 23, 1914 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Closed: | November 11, 1990[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Other Services Header: | Former services | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nrhp: |
| ||||||||||||||||||
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 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]