Beverly Shores (NICTD)
Encyclopedia
Beverly Shores is a station
Train station
A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 in Beverly Shores, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

, called on by South Shore Line
South Shore Line (NICTD)
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana...

 trains. The station also serves the nearby Town of Pines.

Beverly Shores Station is the last example of the "Insull Spanish" architecture style used for station houses along the electric railroad lines acquired by Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...

 in the first part of the twentieth century. It was a Mediterranean Revival style designed by Insull's staff-architect, Arthur U. Gerber
Arthur U. Gerber
Arthur Uranus Gerber was a commercial architect who resided in Evanston, Illinois and whose designs included a number of transit stations in the greater Chicago, Illinois area, at least five of which have since been placed onto the National Register of Historic Places.-Styles:Gerber was known for...

. The station is served by daily passenger trains of the South Shore Line
South Shore Line (NICTD)
The South Shore Line is an electrically powered interurban commuter rail line operated by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District between Millennium Station in downtown Chicago and the South Bend Regional Airport in South Bend, Indiana...

. Although freight trains pass daily in either direction, no freight service is offered from this location. The station housed an agent at one time. This section is now an art gallery. The most notable characteristic of the station, aside from the Spanish style, is the large neon sign reading "Beverly Shores".

The station house is located north of the track. There is a rudimentary paved platform structure directly in front of it. A small parking lot is located right behind the depot.

History

Built in 1929 to serve the Beverly Shores community. The South Shore line began in 1901 as the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway. It was incorporated in 1925. As part of the reorganization in 1925, several stations were added, including the Beverly Shores Station at Broadway and another at Central Avenue. Before 1946, a large neon sign was added to the roof. The sign is owned by the town of Beverly Shores
Beverly Shores, Indiana
Beverly Shores is a town in Pine Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States, about east of downtown Chicago. The population was 613 at the 2010 census.-History:...

 and leased to the railroad until November 2034. The land is owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company
NiSource
NiSource, Inc. , based in Merrillville, Indiana, is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution...

 (NIPSCO), who leases it to the railroad on a 99 year lease that began in August 1929. The building is owned by the South Shore Railroad.

National Register of Historic Places

The station was designed by architect Arthur Gerber and built in 1929. The Mediterranean Revival Style
Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States about the end of the nineteenth century, and became popular during the 1920s and 1930s...

 was used for a series of buildings adjacent to the station, including the Bartlett Real Estate Office. This is one of nine such stations built along Insull lines, which included the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee
Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, often called the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad line that operated between Chicago, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, until its abandonment in 1963.- Early history :...

 line. Of the nine, only this station and the North Shore Line's Briergate station still exist. On July 19, 1989, the Beverly Shores Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

Current usage

After the beginning of the new century, the building was rehabilitated. Most of the building was converted into an art museum and shop operated by the Beverly Shores Historical Society. It is open seasonally (April–October) and then only mid-day twice a week. The old waiting room is still open to the public. It contains several benches, a bathroom and an information stand.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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