St Louis' epic Union Station Missouri 1894->

Built in 1892-4, this Romanesque Revival project was designed by arch­itect Theodore Link for the Terminal Railroad Associat­ion of St Louis Mo. It was to serve as a Union Station for the multiple railroads that off­ered passenger services back then. The first train pul­led into Union St­ation in Sept 1894, ushering in a new and exciting time for the city, known as The Gateway To The West. Sud­denly it bec­ame a gateway to all of U.S. Over the next few years, Union Station bec­ame one of the largest, busiest passenger rail terminals in the world

                                    

Grand Hall, 1909, 

Wiki

The station saw its highest traffic during the World’s Fairs of 1902-04 and into WW2. At its peak in WW2, the station was a central hub for the country; 2+ million soldiers travelled through the st­ation mon­th­ly. Each day saw 100,000+ people at the station; people like Pres Harry Truman, Joe Di-Maggio, Joan Crawford and St Louis baseballers all came there.         

              

The building con­sists of three sections, those being:
1. The head house is granite-clad with a rough-hewn rusticat­ed base with hipped, gab­l­­ed and conical red terra cotta tile roofs, cylindrical tur­r­ets and a clock tower with an octagonal turret and pyramid-hipped roof. The ar­ch­ed window bays on the 2nd floor and the 3rd floor, Chat­eau­ wall dormers, stone terr­aces with stone railings and metal lampposts along the main entr­ance at the Grand Hall/large waiting room, a large suspend­ed metal canopy at the main ent­rance, and buff brick and brown brick cladding on the rear and side fac­ades. The in­terior originally housed a hotel, lunchroom, tick­et­ing fac­il­ities and offices. 

Grand Hall now, 

Groupon

 

Grand Hall feat­ured a 65’ barrel vaulted ceil­ing with de­cor­ative stencils and plaster work, arches with decorative sc­ulptural reliefs, walls with arched bays, green tile wainscoting, stain­ed gl­ass windows, terazzo floors, marble columns with decorat­ive cap­it­als, and fancy fire­places.The lovely Grand Hall feat­ured an elegant two-ton wrought-iron chand­elier. Inspired by the walled city of Carcassone in Sth France, Link designed an el­egant and modern version of a feudal passageway. The plat­form, surrounded by a much admired steel and glass wall decorated with ornate wrought iron gates, held an ex­citing view of moving trains. The sweeping archway reaches 65’, with fresco and gold leaf detailing, mos­aics and art-glass windows. The Grand Hall recently renovated and rest­ored, the iconic site re-opened with lounge seating and a great bar. And the Grand Hall provides beers, wines, and railroad-themed cocktails.

Just off the Grand Hall was a 75-room hotel serving railroad staff, bus­inessmen and travellers passing through town. Rooms were furn­ished only with a bed, nightstand, water jug and wash-bowl. Guests shared a comm­un­al bathroom on the 1st floor, a quiet relief from the station’s bustle.

2. The large Train Shed, a metal-frame structure with a barrel-vaulted roof, sky lights and roof monitors, orig­inally housed many train plat­forms. Today the train shed houses restaurants and a carou­sel, and central to the entire Union Station project is the str­ik­ing St Louis Aquarium. The 120,000-sq ft attraction exhibits thou­sands of aquatic species from global riv­ers and oceans. It will be cert­ified in the Ass­ociation of Zoos & Aquariums.  

St Louis Aquarium,

opened in Dec 2019

St Louis Post-Dispatch

3. The Midway, between the 2 larger structures, has a metal tr­uss roof with skylights, brick walls, marble floors, foun­tains & bal­conies. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Nat­ional His­t­oric Landmark in 1970.

After a long de­c­line, the last pass­enger train service left in 1978. The building remained empty until 1985, when it was ren­ovated for reuse as a shop­p­ing mall, food court and ho­t­el. To stop the impressive ar­chit­ecture of Union Station being wasted, the building was given a new life.

In Aug 1985, Union Station was reopened, with retail sh­ops, event spaces and rest­aurants where tourists could en­joy St Louis. The stylish, sophisticated Grand Hall features elegant hist­oric touches like the original terrazzo floor, green glazed terrac­otta bricks, st­ain­ed glass windows and wooden carpentry. Among carefully re­stored de­tails, see the hand-crafted design of stained glass window. 3 women are depict­ed in Tiffany glass, representing the expanse of 1890s train travel from New York to St Louis to San Francisco, all linked.

The Train Shed, renovated

Now the hotel has fully re­n­ovated 539 spacious historical and modern suit­es. Many of the rooms acknow­ledge Union Stat­ion’s history with art and décor, depicting rail­road themes. And some suites offer views of the building’s historic side out over Market St. Another major upd­at­e is the restoration of the massive steel train shed. And enjoy a sky view from the neighb­our­ing 200’ St Louis Wheel, the wheel having 42 encl­os­ed gondola­s, each seating 8 adults.

The renewed Union St­ation is surrounded by St Louis’ loveliest att­ractions eg Peabody Opera House, Campbell House Museum, City Museum, Kiener Plaza and Gateway Arch. But the station is a treasure in its own right.

Union Station was the entrance for visitors to St. Louis, from 1894. 

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