Old Train Stations

[Everydaymatters]

Union Station in Washington D.C. was revitalized quite a few years back and is now thriving. They did a great job within the old structure and it continues to be a train station as well as a shopping area.

So many of the beautiful old stations have been replaced by metal buildings instead of rehabbed. Others have been rehabbed, but are not used as train stations at all anymore. They're shopping centers or tourist atttractions.

Has anyone seen or have information about the old Kansas City station? Is Chicago's Union Station going to be rehabbed? What happened to the old Bloomington, Illinois station? Torn down? What about Denver's old station? Still there? LosAngeles Station - what's its current status? Seattle was being rehabbed last year, is it finished? Any others?

 

[Jim McShane]

Union Station in Washington D.C. was revitalized quite a few years back and is now thriving.  They did a great job within the old structure and it continues to be a train station as well as a shopping area.
So many of the beautiful old stations have been replaced by metal buildings instead of rehabbed.  Others have been rehabbed, but are not used as train stations at all anymore.  They're shopping centers or tourist atttractions.

Has anyone seen or have information about the old Kansas City station?  Is Chicago's Union Station going to be rehabbed?  What happened to the old Bloomington, Illinois station?  Torn down?  What about Denver's old station?  Still there?  LosAngeles Station - what's its current status?  Seattle was being rehabbed last year, is it finished?  Any others?

Chicago Union Station was rehabbed in the late 80s or early '90s. It is a very busy place, so in addition to rehab it needs to have a lot of maintenance. They take pretty good care of it. The Amtrak lounge was redone just about a year ago too.

 

[printman2000]

Houston's Union Station was in sad condition for a long time. They put in a low drop down ceiling in the main waiting room covering up all the beautiful architecture.

Then, along came the Astros. The station is now the front entrance to Minute Maid park. They have restored the waiting room to its former glory. No trains anymore (except the one that runs when homeruns are hit), but still better than seeing it demolished.

Here is a pic of what they found...

Here is a pic of the inside today (set up for some reception)

 

[TransAtlantic]

well, that definitely looks nothing like the Houston Amtrak station...

 

[KC_ChiefRider]

Kansas City's Union Station was also in sad shape for quite some time. It was closed during the 1980's, and sat empty until a bi-state tax initiative was passed in 1996 to fund a major renovation beginning in 1997. (For those who don't know, the Kansas City metro area straddles the KS/MO state line, hence the "bi-state" tax ... the station is in KCMO) The station now houses the Science City museum, a planetarium, a 3-D movie theater, a live theater, several shops & restaurants, banquet/meeting space, a U.S. Post Office, and a rail exhibit. There are also various travelling exhibits from The Smithsonian and other museums.

Amtrak service to Union Station resumed in 2002, after a 17-year absence. We have 4 daily trains ... The Southwest Chief to LA from Chicago, The Southwest Chief to Chicago from LA, The Ann Rutledge to/from Chicago via St. Louis, and The Missouri Mule to/from St. Louis.

The future of Union Station overall is rather uncertain at this time; they have experienced a lot of financial difficulty since the income from the facility is not keeping up with the expenses of operating it. There have been some major staff reductions recently; they even shut down the air conditioning in The Link, which is the skyway connecting the station with the Hyatt-Regency hotel across the street, as a cost-cutting measure a couple weeks ago.

 

[Guest_Gingee]

I was at the Seattle station a week ago and it seems like some of it has been restored and some still needs to be. The baggage area was pathetic.

The Union Station was nice.