Two years later, the Kansas City Terminal Railway and a private developer, Trizec, a Canadian redevelopment firm, made a deal to redevelop the station. Nonetheless, Kansas City Union Station’s rich history and structural and design integrity were recognized when it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. Amtrak would vacate the station in 1985, when it moved to a smaller nearby structure in a cost-saving move. In 1971, newly-formed Amtrak took over operation of most of the nation’s intercity passenger rail services, including those using Kansas City Union Station. In 1945, annual passenger traffic at Kansas City Union Station peaked at 678, 363 but by 1973, with the increase of automotive traffic on the interstate highway system, only 38,842 passengers passed through the station, with only six trains a day. At one time in 1917, as many as 300 trains passed through this station traffic peaked at 79,368 trains that year. Through a strong regional initiative, Kansas City Union Station has been revived from a sad state of dilapidation in the mid-twentieth century. She went on to design buildings such as the Posada Hotel in Winslow, Ariz., and Hopi House in Grand Canyon National Park, among many notable structures. Mary Jane Colter became the company’s architect and interior designer in the early 1900s and worked out of a studio in Kansas City Union Station. Harvey sold his idea of excellent restaurants for travelers to the Atcheson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, which then let Harvey operate restaurants and build hotels along its routes-many of which became the social centers of their towns. Harvey was the initiator of the first national chain of hotels and restaurants-as well as the idea of shops for travelers in the Union Station. Kansas City Union Station was also home to the headquarters of the Fred Harvey Company between its opening and 1938. The “Kansas City Massacre” resulted in the arming of all FBI agents. The building was in the national headlines on June 17, 1933, when four unarmed FBI agents were gunned down by gang members attempting to free captured fugitive Frank Nash. More arched windows similarly light the North Hall.Ī busy and efficient transportation hub, Union Station has also played a part in the history of American law enforcement. Three enormous, deep-set arches mark the facade, rendering the Grand Hall light and airy. The North Waiting Hall, with its 65-foot ceiling, can contain an assemblage of 10,000 people.ĭesigned by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, a proponent of the City Beautiful movement, the station features a coffered ceiling in the Grand Hall, rose-brown marble floors throughout the main areas, and both light and dark stone facings on the interior walls. A six-foot-high clock hangs from the ceiling at the nexus of the Grand and North Halls. The ceiling in the Grand Hall soars 95 feet high and from it hang three glittering chandeliers, each weighing 3,500 lbs. The Grand Hall was intended for ticketing, while the North Waiting Hall, extending perpendicularly from the Main Hall and over the railway tracks, served as a passenger waiting area. Union Station encompasses 850,000 square feet of space and originally had 900 rooms on 10 levels. The building replaced the original Union Depot in the city’s West Bottoms area, which was demolished after a 1903 flood inundated it, thereby convincing city leaders to rebuild on higher ground. Designed in the grand Beaux-Arts style, it reflected the city’s status as major Midwestern metropolis and a significant passenger and freight rail hub with links to all parts of the nation. Excavation began in 1911 and on October 30, 1914, Kansas City Union Station opened as the third-largest train station in the country. The Kansas City Terminal Railway, a company formed by the twelve railroads serving the city, built the limestone and granite Kansas City Union Station that we see today. Understanding Accessibility Requirements.North Carolina Station and Train Host Association Case Study.Surface Transportation Block Grant Program: Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set-Aside.Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design: St.Cultural Space & Museums: Cincinnati, OH.Architectural & Aesthetic Improvements: Elizabethtown, PA. Aesthetic and Architectural Improvement.
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