Beverly Shores station

Beverly Shores is a train station in Beverly Shores, Indiana, served by the South Shore Line interurban commuter railroad. The station serves the town of Beverly Shores as well as the nearby Town of Pines. It is a flag stop.

Beverly Shores
LocationBroadway Avenue and US 12, Beverly Shores, Indiana
Owned byNICTD
Platforms1 side platform
Tracks1
ConnectionsCalumet Trail
Construction
ParkingYes
Bicycle facilitiesYes
Other information
Fare zone7
ElectrifiedYes (1500 V DC)
Passengers
201533 (average weekday)[1]
Services
Preceding station NICTD Following station
Dune Park
toward Millennium Station
 South Shore Line 11th Street
toward South Bend Airport
Kemil Road
Closed 1994
toward Millennium Station
 Willard Avenue
Closed 1994
toward South Bend Airport
Beverly Shores South
Shore Railroad Station
Interactive map highlighting the station
Coordinates41°40′24″N 86°59′9″W
Built1929 (1929)
ArchitectArthur U. Gerber
Leo W. Post
Architectural styleMediterranean Revival
NRHP reference No.89000411[2]
Added to NRHPJuly 19, 1989

Architecture
Station neon signage at night

This is one of eleven such stations built along Insull lines, which included the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee line.[3] Of the eleven, only this station and the North Shore Line's Briergate station still exist. The Mediterranean Revival style was used for a series of buildings adjacent to the station, including the Bartlett Real Estate Office.[4]

Beverly Shores station is one of the last two examples of the "Insull Spanish" architecture style used for station houses along the electric railroad lines acquired by Samuel Insull in the first part of the twentieth century. The other is in Highland Park, IL, with the Briergate station but it is threatened with demolition.[5] It was a Mediterranean Revival style designed by Insull's staff-architect, Arthur U. Gerber.[6] The station is served by daily passenger trains of the South Shore Line. Although freight trains pass daily in either direction, no freight service is offered from this location. The station housed an agent, Nellie Warren, and her husband at one time.[7] 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
Side view with sign for art museum, and NRHP plaque.

The South Shore Line began in 1901 as the Chicago and Indiana Air Line Railway. It was incorporated in 1925, when several stations were added, including the Beverly Shores Station at Broadway and another at Central Avenue.[6] The station was designed by architect Arthur Gerber and built by Leo W. Post in 1929 as a mirror image of the Lake Shore station built two years earlier and demolished in the 1970s.[7]

The Beverly Shores station replaced an earlier structure serving the developing resort community of Beverly Shores on Lake Michigan. This is the last unaltered Insull Spanish style structure of the nine built on Samuel Insull's South and North Shore Lines. It still serves the 88-mile long South Shore Line, the last of the electric interurban railway systems. This station typifies Insull's interurban routes; it is the best representative of the South Shore Line's history.[8]

Before 1946, a large neon sign was added to the roof. The sign is owned by the town of Beverly Shores and leased to the railroad until November 2034. The land is owned by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company (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.[6]

On July 19, 1989, the Beverly Shores station was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Upcoming Improvements

As part of a larger project to double-track the South Shore Line from Gary to Michigan City, Beverly Shores will receive a second track and a second platform. While some other stations are receiving major renovations as part of the project, Beverly Shores will only see a new low-level platform to accommodate the second track, while the parking and station building will remain unchanged.[9] This renovation is projected to be completed in mid-2024.[10]

References
  1. "2018 State of the System" (PDF). Metra. August 2018. p. 185.
  2. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  3. Porter County Interim Report, Indiana Historic Sites, and Structures Inventory; Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana, July 1991; pg 9
  4. Historic Marker on site
  5. Chicago Tribune article on Gerber's Briergate station
  6. Beverly Shores South Shore Railroad Station; Hisortic American Buildings Survey; Rpt IN-262, National Park Service, Washington D.C.
  7. "The Little Railroad That Could, The South Shore". www.monon.monon.org. Archived from the original on 2017-12-01. Retrieved 2017-11-25.
  8. "Indiana State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD)" (Searchable database). Department of Natural Resources, Division of Historic Preservation and Archaeology. Retrieved 2016-06-01. Note: This includes Dorinda Partsch (August 1988). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Beverly Shores South Shore Railroad Station" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-06-01. and Accompanying photographs.
  9. "Beverly Shores Campus". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. "Project Schedule". Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
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