St. Louis Union Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
St. Louis, MO
|
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
||||
| Location | 1820 Market Street St. Louis, Missouri |
|||
| Owned by | Lodging Hospitality Management | |||
| Platforms | 3 island platforms | |||
| Tracks | 4 (used for excursions) | |||
| Connections |  Red BlueAt Union Station (MetroLink) |
|||
| Construction | ||||
| Parking | Yes | |||
| History | ||||
| Opened | 1894 | |||
| Closed | 1978 | |||
| Rebuilt | 1985 (mall) 2019 (aquarium) |
|||
|
||||
|
St. Louis Union Station
|
||||
| Built | 1892–94 | |||
| Architect | Theodore Link | |||
| Architectural style | Romanesque Revival | |||
| NRHP reference No. | 70000888 | |||
| Significant dates | ||||
| Added to NRHP | June 15, 1970 | |||
| Designated NHL | December 30, 1970 | |||
St. Louis Union Station is a famous building in St. Louis, Missouri, USA. It used to be a huge train station. When it opened in 1894, it was the biggest train station in the world!
In the 1940s, about 100,000 people passed through it every day. The last passenger train left the station in 1978.
Today, it's no longer a train station. It has been changed into a hotel, a shopping area, and a fun entertainment spot. It even has an aquarium! The hotel part is a member of Historic Hotels of America.
Right next to Union Station, you can find a MetroLink station. This is for the city's light-rail system, which has Red and Blue Lines. The main train station for St. Louis is now a short walk away.
Contents
History of St. Louis Union Station
How Union Station Began
.jpg)
St. Louis Union Station first opened its doors on September 1, 1894. It was built by the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis. Theodore Link designed the station.
The station had three main parts: the Headhouse, the Midway, and a huge Train Shed. The Train Shed was about 11.5 acres (4.7 hectares) big. The Headhouse had a hotel, a restaurant, and waiting rooms for passengers.
It also featured a beautiful Grand Hall. This hall had gold leaf decorations, Romanesque arches, and a 65-foot (20 m) high ceiling. Stained-glass windows added to its beauty. The clock tower on the building is 230 feet (70 m) tall.
When it first opened, Union Station was the largest and busiest train station in the world. Its train shed also had the largest roof span in the world.
Union Station in the 1900s
In 1903, the station got bigger to welcome visitors for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. By the 1920s, it was still the largest train terminal in America.
At its busiest, 22 different railroad companies used Union Station. This was more than any other station in the world. In the 1940s, about 100,000 passengers used the station every day.
A famous photo of President Harry S. Truman was taken here in 1948. He was holding a newspaper with the wrong headline, "Dewey Defeats Truman".
Over time, more people started flying instead of taking trains. So, fewer people used the station. By the 1960s, the huge station became too expensive to keep running as it was.
Amtrak took over passenger train service in 1971. But they stopped using Union Station on October 31, 1978. The last train to leave was the Inter-American, heading to Chicago. Amtrak then moved its services to a smaller, temporary spot nearby. Today, Amtrak uses the Gateway Transportation Center, which is one block east.
In 1970, Union Station was named a National Historic Landmark. This was because it was an important example of old railroad architecture.
Union Station's New Life
In August 1985, Union Station got a big makeover. It cost $150 million! It reopened with a 539-room hotel, a shopping mall, and restaurants. This renovation helped turn it into one of St. Louis's most popular places to visit. The hotel is in the old Headhouse and part of the train shed.
Union Station Today
In 2012, a company called Lodging Hospitality Management bought Union Station. They changed the hotel to a DoubleTree hotel. In 2016, they announced plans to add an aquarium.
The station now has a "Memories Museum." It shows old items and stories about the station's history. You can also find the original drawings of the station at Washington University.
Today, the train shed area is home to The St. Louis Wheel. This is a 200-foot (61 m) tall Ferris wheel with 42 gondolas. There's also The St. Louis Rope Course inside. It's a three-story indoor ropes and zip line course.
Union Station also has two cool light shows. One is in the train shed, and the other is in the hotel lobby.
In January 2020, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. moved its main office to Union Station. They also opened a new store and a radio studio there.
The St. Louis Aquarium opened in 2020 in the old shopping mall area. It's 120,000 square feet (11,000 m2) and has over 13,000 animals from more than 250 species.
Getting Around St. Louis Union Station
MetroLink Train Service
MetroLink is St. Louis's light rail system. It serves Union Station with its Red and Blue lines. The station is located underground in an old baggage tunnel. This tunnel was built in the 1890s for moving luggage. It was changed for MetroLink in 1993.
You can take the Red Line to St. Louis Lambert International Airport. It takes about 30 minutes to get to either airport terminal.
Gateway Transportation Center
The city's main transportation hub is the Gateway Multimodal Transportation Center. It is just two blocks from Union Station. This center also has MetroLink, local buses, and national services like Amtrak and Greyhound.
You can find taxi service 24 hours a day at the north entrance of St. Louis Union Station. This entrance is on Market Street.
Filming Location
In 1981, parts of the empty station were used to film the movie Escape from New York. A scene with the captured President was shot in the train shed. A fight scene was filmed in the Grand Hall.
Images for kids
-
Union Station postcard from about 1909
-
Grand Hall, postmarked 1909
-
Grand Hall in 2023
-
George Washington train leaving St. Louis Union Station, 1967
-
MetroLink monument sign at Union Station
-
Former Washington Terminal EMD SW1 Locomotive at St. Louis Union Station. July 2015.
.jpg)
.jpg)
See also
In Spanish: Union Station (San Luis) para niños
