The first station at Wells Street was built by the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad , the first railroad in Chicago . When the railroad opened in 1848 it operated out of a depot on the west side of the Chicago River , near the corner of Canal and Kinzie Streets . In 1851 the railroad began to purchase the land needed to build a new station to the east of the river , and construction of this station at Wells Street took place during 1852 and 1853 . On February 15 , 1865 the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad merged with the Chicago and North Western Railway . The first Wells Street station was destroyed in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 , a temporary wooden structure replaced it until , in 1881 the Wells Street Station opened in the same location
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Wells Street Station