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By Richard L. Keal, Class of 2013

Most Chicagoans know about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and many Chicago history buffs know of the Iroquois Theater Fire of 1913.  But…did you know there was a fire at Union Station much more recently?

By 1980, Chicago’s Union Station was a shadow of its former neo-classical elegance and shine. The Great Hall was a dark cavern, the ceiling still blacked out from the WWII-era tar that covered the glass tile, eliminating any natural light.  The lunch counter, Falcon Lounge, and Golden Lion Restaurant remained, but were no longer operated by Fred Harvey. (A Chicago service company, Faber Enterprises, had contracted to operate food concessions in 1976). On July 26, 1980, these restaurants closed for good!

At 7:00 that morning, a janitor was clearing trash and bags of sawdust near the loading dock in a lower level of the station.  He was unable to remove all of the debris because of the volume.  At that time, he heard a “popping sound” and pulled the fire alarm.  Nothing happened.

By 10:40 that same morning, another janitor reported to Station Security that he smelled smoke.  When investigating the smoke, a security guard saw that the loading dock was in flames. The Chicago Fire Department was called and arrived within 20 minutes.  The fire was brought under control within ten minutes.

The C.F.D. Battalion Chief then ordered fire fighters to inspect the area, the vertical pipe chase above the dock, the first floor, the seventh floor, and the roof of the building.  They went to the first floor to inspect the area above the loading dock, which included The Golden Lion Restaurant. When they got to The Golden Lion, neither the fire fighter nor the Union Station escort had a key for the space.  The fire fighter looked through the glass doors with his flashlight, saw no flames or smoke, and could feel no heat at the door.  They then proceeded to the upper floors. Smelling smoke from the fire below, they opened windows and doors to ventilate the area.  There was no order to evacuate the building.  

At 11:37 AM, the fire fighters left Union Station.

At the same time, Conrail employees on the 5th floor who had smelled smoke were assured that the “small fire” was under control.  They were told that C.F.D. extinguished the fire.

Twenty minutes later, a Union Station security officer was in The Great Hall and was told that a Faber Restaurant employee smelled smoke in The Falcon Lounge.  They went to look and found The Golden Lion engulfed in fire.  They called for the Chicago Fire Department to return, and they evacuated The Great Hall.

By noon, three of the 5th floor Conrail employees, Mary Banhart, Arthur Bridenstine, and William McGuckin, were engulfed in smoke. They tried to get from their offices to the main 5th floor office. When they got there, McGuckin called his manager to tell him they were trapped.  Banhart and Bridenstine made it out a window onto a ledge.  They tried to assist McGurkin, but he collapsed on the office floor. 

The C.F.D. returned and brought the then-raging fire under control.  The people who were clinging to the building’s ledges were rescued  Mr. McGuckin lost his life to smoke inhalation.

The Golden Lion, The Falcon Lounge, and the Lunch Counter, all on the west wall of The Great Hall, were never to reopen.

The cause of the fire continues to be in dispute.  In a subsequent trial, the fire department inspector said it was likely an electrical fire, while an engineer hired by the city claimed it was likely spontaneous combustion or improper disposal of smoking materials in the trash. All the experts agreed that the hasty inspection of the damage caused by the first call was careless and likely caused the lone death from the fire.

As we now look at the beauty of The Great Hall in its restored splendor, it’s difficult to understand the panic and horror generated along the west wall by the July 1980 Union Station Fire.

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