The station opened on September 1, 1894. Theodore Link designed it, and George Pegram designed its 11.5-acre train shed. It was the world's largest and busiest railroad station when it opened, and its shed had the largest roof span in the world.
The Grand Hall has gold leaf, Romanesque arches and a barrel-vaulted ceiling 65 feet high. It was enlarged in 1903 for the 1904 World's Fair. At its peak in the 1940s, it handled 100,000 passengers a day.
The last Amtrak passenger train left in 1978. In the 1980s the building was renovated as a hotel, shopping center and entertainment complex.