Beyond its skyscrapers, delicious meals, culture, and heritage, did you know that Chicago has hidden stories? This city located in northeastern Illinois was once the railroad center of the nation, linked to a network of substantial passenger and freight railroads.
From the abandoned prisons to the creepy cemetery, these abandoned places in Chicago tell of its rise, fall, and changes. If you’re still here, then here are the 10 most fascinating abandoned places in Chicago, where history and mystery intertwine.
10 Abandoned Places in Chicago
1. Brach’s Candy Factory
Brach’s Palace of Sweets, which was once a sugary empire, started as a storefront candy store selling sweet chocolates and caramel in 1904 before it became recognized as the world’s largest candy-manufacturing factory at that time.
With the help of his sons, Emil J. Brach started this factory from scratch by creating affordable, high-quality candies that quickly gained popularity. While competitors charged 50 cents per pound, Brach’s sold their sweets at 20 cents, making them accessible to more people.
In its prime, Brach was producing more than 250 types of candy bars, including chocolate-covered, honeycombed, peanut butter, mint, and almond nougat bars. After the war, Brach made money from bulk and bagged candies as Halloween trick-or-treating became popular.
Brach also faced its set of challenges in 1948, when a massive explosion at the Kinzie Street plant killed 11 employees and injured many others. But Brach rebuilt, modernized, and increased production to 4 million pounds of candy per year, employing 2,400 workers.
It seemed this candy factory was too big to fail until sugar prices skyrocketed in the 80s and 90s. Ownership changed hands multiple times, and financial struggles led to job cuts and relocations, and the factory finally closed down in 2003.
The brand went through many acquisitions before finally becoming a part of the Ferrara Candy Company in 2012, which still produces some of Brach’s classics. Today, this candy factory has been demolished, and the site remains empty.
2. Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is more than just abandoned; it’s a place where history and the supernatural mix up. Despite the haunting stories, this cemetery tells the stories of those who lived, loved, and left their legacy behind.
Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery is one of the oldest burial grounds in Cook County, although its official establishment was in 1864 when Edward M. Everden sold land in the area while reserving one acre for cemetery use.
The cemetery was once a well-maintained site where families would gather on Sundays to have a picnic and visit the graves of their loved ones. This lasted till the mid-20s when most residents left, and the cemetery became isolated and neglected.
Over the years, neglect and vandalism have turned it into a paranormal activity spot, and it is considered one of the most haunted places in the U.S. It is rumored to have become a hotspot for satanic rituals, some of which involved the removal of bodies.
Although it has historical significance, the supernatural activity has made Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery legendary. Visitors claim to have seen eerie glowing lights, phantom cars, vanishing houses, shadowy figures, and even the Madonna of Bachelor’s Grove, a woman in white cradling a baby.
Currently, there are efforts to restore the cemetery and protect the gravestones from damage. But, whether you believe in ghosts or not, a visit to this abandoned graveyard will make you agree that there’s something unsettling here; just remember to respect the dead on this site.
3. Chicago Freight Tunnels
Beneath the streets of Chicago are the Chicago Freight Tunnels, an underground railway with so many tunnels that once powered this city’s commerce. Built in 1899, it started as a utility and communication tunnel before it was used to transport mail, air, merchandise, and coal.
The project expanded but was met with strikes, financial crises, and opposition from businesses who felt threatened. In its prime in 1914, this 60-mile underground railway had up to 132 electric cars and thousands of freight cars.
The financial troubles later progressed into bankruptcy in 1956. When the freight tunnels started to fall out of business, special companies like the Chicago Tribune used the tunnels until it was finally abandoned in 1959.
The real shock came in 1992, when construction workers stumbled upon it by accident, puncturing a tunnel roof that led to thousands of gallons of water from the Chicago River flooding the system and creating major damage across the city.
After the repairs were completed, the tunnels were sealed off to the public, but some have been repurposed as power and communication lines. Though the freight trains are gone, these tunnels are an invisible relic of the city’s history, buried just beneath the surface.
4. Chicago Water Cribs
The Chicago Water Cribs were once lifeline structures built to supply the city with drinking water from Lake Michigan. They are often mistaken for abandoned lighthouses, but they are the only visible parts of an underground network of tunnels.
From there, water was collected, transported, purified, and treated before being pumped to all parts of the city as well as 118 suburbs. Though nine permanent water cribs were constructed, only six remain standing, with two still in active use.
The Two-Mile Crib was Chicago’s first water supply system that supplied cleaner water and was built in 1865. As the demand for clean water grew, then came the Four-Mile Crib, completed in 1891, which extended even further into the lake.
However, not all crib stories were successful because the construction of the Edward F. Dunne Crib in 1909 caused one of the most tragic incidents in Chicago’s history, which included a fire breakout.
Despite this tragedy, the Carter H. Harrison Crib, built in 1900, and the William E. Dever Crib, built in 1935, were designed to handle the increasing water demand. The Harrison Crib is now abandoned due to another tragic incident, and the Wilson Avenue Crib, built in 1918, is considered obsolete.
Most water cribs have been abandoned and are only visited by city workers for maintenance checks, although they carry out limited public tours. Officials have called for demolition, while some want it to be turned into a museum, but for now, it remains off-limits to the public.
5. Joliet Correctional Center
If you’re a fan of The Blues Brothers or Prison Break, then you would recognize this infamous prison. Joliet Correctional Center, also known as Joliet Prison, Joliet Penitentiary, the Old Joliet Prison, and the Collins Street Prison, was built in 1858.
For nearly a century and a half, Joliet Correctional Center was one of the best Illinois criminal justice systems housing some of the most notorious criminals. Joliet was built by its first sets of inmates, and by 1860, it was fully operational.
During the Civil War, prisoners of war, local offenders, and female prisoners were all locked inside this prison. However, the females were housed in a separate cell block until 1896, when a prison for females was built.
For much of its existence, Joliet lagged in modern prison standards, which led to the construction of the Stateville Correctional Center in 1925 to be its replacement, but still, the two prisons coexisted for another 77 years.
At its peak in 1990, Joliet held 1,300 inmates with over 500 staff members, but it was old, overcrowded, and increasingly dangerous. By 2002, budget cuts and the dangerous nature of the building led to its shutdown while the inmates and most staff were then transferred to Stateville Correctional Center.
In 2017, the city took control of the property, eventually turning it into a historical site and museum, offering tours to the public. Most of the prison remains frozen as the crumbling limestone walls and rustling cell bars create an eerie atmosphere.
6. Meigs Field Tower and Terminal
Just imagine waking up one day to find your favorite airport gove overnight. That’s what happened to Meigs Field in 2003 when Mayor Richard M. Daley ordered bulldozers to destroy the runway in the middle of the night.
Merill C. Meigs Field Airport was Chicago’s single-runway airport on Northerly Island, named after the newspaper publisher and aviation enthusiast Merrill C. Meigs. This airport was quite popular and used for general aviation during World War II, playing a big role in the city’s aviation history.
In the following decades, Meigs Field became the busiest single-runway airport in the United States, serving as a gateway for corporate jets, medical transport flights, and regional commuter airlines. It was a favorite for business travelers who needed to quickly access downtown Chicago.
Despite its importance, Meigs Field had powerful opponents like the mayor, who announced his plans in 1994 to close the airport and convert the land into a public park. It was closed in 1996 but reopened in 1997, until 2003, when Mayor Daley took a drastic action.
Today, Northerly Island is now a public park with walking trails, native habitats, and an outdoor concert venue. Still, Meigs Field and Tower remain as an abandoned building in Chicago, standing like a forgotten relic overlooking the park.
Left with only the history of an airport that perfectly blended accessibility, history, and innovation, only to be erased overnight. Though the old terminal building is now a visitor’s center, the airport is no more, and the Field Tower can only be seen from the outside.
7. The Bloomingdale Line
Do you know that the Bloomingdale Trail, Chicago’s most beloved public space, was once an abandoned railway? The Bloomingdale Line was constructed in 1873 and used by both passenger and freight trains and served several local industrial businesses.
It played a vital role in Chicago’s industrial boom, serving businesses like the Schwinn Bicycle Company and connecting to rail lines stretching to Elgin, Illinois. For safety, the tracks were elevated in 1910 to prevent deadly collisions.
By the early 2000s, the railway had been abandoned, its tracks serving only as a storage yard for idle freight cars. This gave way for the plan to turn the railway into a linear park or greenway with several public access ramps as part of the Logan Square Open Space Plan. In 2015, it was finally converted into the Bloomingdale Trail.
The Bloomingdale Trail is the second longest in the world and is the longest greenway project of a former railway elevated line in the Western Hemisphere. Though it’s no longer an abandoned railway, you can still see traces of the past while walking through this trail.
The now-transformed Bloomingdale Line is a relic of the industrial past and has become a space for walkers, joggers, and cyclists. As the centerpiece of the 606 network, it’s now more than a park, it’s a bridge between history and nature.
8. Union Station Power House
Do you know this power plant once kept Chicago Union Station running for years? Built in 1920, this powerhouse supplied steam and electricity to a network of buildings, systems, and rail tracks in the city.
The Art Deco-style building was built by the architectural firm Graham, Anderson, Probst, &White. This powerhouse supplied the energy that ran the Chicago Union Station, and its large volume and strong vertical massing show how railroads and transportation began in the city.
This historic structure is one of the abandoned buildings in Chicago that should be preserved, protected, and reused. But since it was abandoned in 2011, its current owner, Amtrak, has plans to demolish it to make way for a storage and maintenance shed, which will cost more than $9 million.
Organizations like Preservation Chicago argue that it can serve a modern purpose while still being a heritage site and have proposed several alternatives. Even a well-known developer has expressed interest in repurposing the building, yet Amtrak has refused to consider these options.
The Union Station Power House tells the history of Chicago’s resilience, ingenuity, and industrial legacy, and it does not deserve to be demolished. It should be recognized as a historical site, but for now, its fate remains uncertain.
9. U.S. Steel South Works
One of the important buildings in Chicago’s industrial history, the U.S. Steel South Works, was one of the largest steel mills. South Works began in 1857 as the North Chicago Rolling Mill, then later merged with other steel mills to form a new company, which became under the control of U.S. Steel in 1901.
In its prime, South Works had 11 blast furnaces, 8 electric furnaces, 12 rolling mills, and over 15,000 workers. It wasn’t just a workplace because it brought workers and their families who built South Chicago to the thriving neighborhood it is today.
However, due to nationwide changes in the steel industry, the facility began to decline, and in 1992, it finally shut down. For decades, it was abandoned, with several developers coming and backing out of their grand plans.
Despite these, parts of this site have been turned into the Steelworkers Park, which serves as a tribute to the laborers. You can visit the park to see the restored prairie and pay homage to the South Works’ history.
Currently, there are plans to turn this abandoned building into a quantum computing center aiming to be operational by 2027. This plan was announced in July 2024 with a $1.09 billion investment from the quantum computing company PsiQuantum.
10. Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in 1850 in the Pilsen neighborhood, of Chicago. The Church had a 90-foot-tall bell tower, sturdy wooden doors, worn Chicago brick, and Gothic German script above the entrance when it first opened to serve the community.
This local church was a Sunday solace for German and Irish immigrants who worked hard in slaughterhouses, railroad yards, lumber mills, and garment factories. But as the German residents moved away, the congregation was mostly Bohemian, Polish, and Eastern European immigrants, and by 1956, the congregation was gone.
After a 1979 fire and windstorm nearly destroyed it, descendants of the church’s first congregant came with the record of its history. The property had already been purchased by John Podmajersky, who planned to demolish the building and redevelop the site, but with this news, he fixed up the few features that remained.
Currently, the bell tower is topped by a modern skylight, the walls are restored and stabilized, and what was once the church’s interior is now a quiet garden sanctuary. There’s still an original crucifix, though charred from the fire, that hangs on an inner wall and is protected by a clear plastic shield.
Podmajersky once had plans to turn this abandoned building into an artist studio, but for now, it’s an open-air tribute to the area’s forgotten history. You can take time out to visit the garden for a silent time-out and reflection.
Conclusion
These abandoned buildings in Chicago are more than just empty places, they are insights into the past with hidden stories. Whether abandoned, haunted, or on the brink of change, they remind us of the history of this city.
From the Silver Spray Shipwreck to the water cribs bobbing along the city’s coastline, exploring these places is like going through a time capsule. So, the next time you see an abandoned building in Chicago, just wonder what stories lie beneath its surface.
