Union Station (Louisville) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Louisville, KY
inter-city rail station
The former platform for the Kentucky Cardinal at Louisville Union Station.
Location	1000 West Broadway, Louisville, Kentucky USA
Coordinates	38°14′46″N 85°46′8″W / 38.24611°N 85.76889°W / 38.24611; -85.76889
Construction
Architect	F.W. Mowbray
Architectural style	Romanesque
History
Opened	1889
Closed	1979 (first time) July 5, 2003 (second time)
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Bowling Green toward St. Petersburg or Miami Floridian Bloomington toward Chicago Jeffersonville toward Chicago Kentucky Cardinal Terminus Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Jeffersonville toward Chicago Chicago – Louisville Terminus Preceding station Louisville and Nashville Railroad Following station Shepherdsville toward New Orleans Main Line St. Matthews toward Cincinnati Preceding station Monon Railroad Following station New Albany toward Chicago Main Line Terminus
Union Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Front and western side at sunset
NRHP reference No.	75000777
Added to NRHP	August 11, 1975
Location
Louisville, KY Location in Kentucky

The Union Station in Louisville, Kentucky, is a very old and important railroad station. Today, it serves as the main office for the Transit Authority of River City (TARC). It has been used by TARC since 1980, after a big restoration project.

Louisville's Union Station was one of several "union stations" in Kentucky. A union station is a train station used by more than one railroad company. It was also one of three major train stations in Louisville. This station officially opened on September 7, 1891. At the time, some said it was the largest train station in the Southern United States.

Building the Station

Building Union Station started in 1880. It took a long time to finish, finally opening in 1889. The total cost was over $310,000, which was a lot of money back then! Local builders did most of the work, except for the tall clock tower.

The architect, F. W. Mowbray, designed the station in a style called Richardsonian Romanesque. This style often uses heavy stone and rounded arches. The outside of the station was made from limestone from Kentucky and Indiana. The roof was covered with slate to protect the building.

The station has many cool features. These include a large clock tower, smaller towers, and a very grand front. Inside, the main hall, called the atrium, was huge. There were also big dining rooms and ladies' rooms. A beautiful wrought iron balcony looked over the atrium.

Soft, rose-colored windows let light into the atrium. The walls inside were made of marble from Georgia, along with oak and pine wood. The floor was covered with ceramic tiles.

Station History

Union Station was the main way many visitors arrived in Louisville. Its busiest time was the 1920s, when 58 trains came and went every day! It was a "union station" because it served several different railroad companies. These included the L&N, Monon Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad.

Many people traveling to the famous Kentucky Derby would arrive at Union Station. Special trains would bring visitors, and Pullman cars even allowed people to sleep overnight at the station. This tradition continued until the mid-1960s.

Three different United States presidents arrived in Louisville by Union Station. The famous actress Sarah Bernhardt even performed in the station's lobby once.

Aerial view of the Louisville passenger and freight terminals showing Union Station in the first half of the 20th century.

On July 17, 1905, a fire damaged the station. It was closed until December of that year for repairs. During the restoration, the rose-colored windows were replaced. A new, beautiful stained glass skylight with 84 panels was added. This became a special feature of the station.

The station also had to close for twelve days during the big Ohio River flood of 1937.

Amtrak, the national passenger rail service, used Union Station from 1971 to 1976. Later, from 2001 to 2003, Amtrak tried to bring back train service with the Kentucky Cardinal train. This train went to Chicago through Indianapolis. However, this service did not last. One reason was that the tracks between Indianapolis and Louisville were old. Trains could only go 30 miles per hour, which was slower than cars on the highway.

The L&N railroad eventually sold Union Station to TARC. TARC spent two million dollars between 1979 and 1980 to fix up the station. Since then, it has been TARC's main office.

In 2010, TARC announced plans to restore all 278 windows at Union Station. Forty of these windows are made of stained glass. The station also received a new energy-saving system. These improvements help TARC save about $58,000 each year on energy costs.

Important Trains at the Station

Until the 1950s and 1960s, many important trains used Union Station. Here are some of them:

• The Thoroughbred went between Chicago, Illinois and Louisville.
• The Azalean traveled from New York City to New Orleans, Louisiana.
• The Flamingo connected Cincinnati, Ohio to Jacksonville, Florida.
• The Florida Arrow was a winter train that went from Chicago to Miami, Florida.
• The Humming Bird traveled between Cincinnati and New Orleans.
• The Pan-American also went from New York City to New Orleans.
• The South Wind connected Chicago to Miami.
• Other trains went to St. Louis and Lexington, Kentucky.
• The Kentuckian went between Chicago and Louisville.