Chicago and North Western Railway Power House Live Webcam

The Chicago & North Western Power House is a historic industrial building in Chicago, built in 1911 to supply electricity for the Chicago & North Western Terminal, once one of the city’s most important railroad hubs. It is located at 211 North Clinton Street in the West Loop, just steps from the modern Ogilvie Transportation Center and active Metra commuter rail lines.

Designed by the architectural firm Frost & Granger, the building blends Beaux-Arts and Italian Renaissance styles. Its façade features light cream-colored brick accented with decorative terra-cotta details, reflecting early 20th-century industrial elegance. The most recognizable feature is the massive brick smokestack rising 69 meters (227 feet), positioned at the corner of Clinton Street and Milwaukee Avenue.

Originally, the power house contained boiler rooms, engine halls, and technical facilities that generated electricity for steam locomotives and terminal operations. By the early 1960s, the plant was decommissioned as railroad technology and infrastructure evolved.

After the original railroad terminal was demolished in 1984, the surrounding area was redeveloped into the Ogilvie Transportation Center. The power house itself was preserved and today stands as a rare surviving example of Chicago’s railroad-era industrial architecture. It is one of only two historic railroad power houses remaining in the city and the sole structure still associated with the Chicago & North Western Railway.

Recognized for its cultural and architectural value, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 10, 2004, and designated a Chicago Landmark on January 11, 2006. In recent years, it has been adaptively reused, with new interior levels added and the space converted into offices, retail areas, cafés, and studios, while carefully preserving its historic appearance and industrial character.