A Look at Union Station’s History

When the renovation of Denver’s classic Union Station is completed in 2014, the building will have received a very modern makeover. But while the majority of people who walk by the construction each day ponder as to the future of the station, its past is just as interesting.

So we have included some rather interesting and unknown facts about our beloved Union Station that most people do not know, but should.

• The current Union Station was not the first one. On the same site, the Union Depot and Railroad Company built Denver’s first station in 1881 for $525,000. Due to a fire ignited by a faulty electrical system, that station was burned beyond repair on March 18, 1894. The existing Union Station was built quickly afterwards.
• There used to be a massive stone clock tower in the center of the front façade, but it was torn down in 1914 and replaced with the central section we see today.
• In the center room of the station, there are 2,300 Columbine flowers, Colorado’s state flower, carved into the plaster arches.
• The true glory days of Union Station were in the 1920s and 1930s, when the station would operate about 80 trains a day.
• When train travel was still all the rage, Union Station saw its fair share of famous passengers, including Presidents Harry Truman, William Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, and Franklin D. Roosevelt, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and Queen Marie of Romania.
• In 1933, Denver was inundated by a series of devastating floods. On August 4, the station was overwhelmed and closed for a period of time as trains could neither arrive nor leave.
• Up until 1958, Union Station saw more travelers per year than the Stapleton Airport.
• RTD and the City of Denver made improvements to the station in the 1980s in order to accommodate the new rail platforms, canopies, and bus lanes that provided access to the Market Street Station.

Once the Station is reopened:
• Trams will run regularly between Union Station and Denver International Airport, a much needed transportation corridor.
• The commercial and retail space designed for the new Union Station will contain only locally owned businesses and no major chain stores.
• Many people speculate that when Union Station is finally reopened to the public, the city blocks immediately surrounding it will become the new “it” neighborhood in the city, surpassing Larimer Square and Cherry Creek North.
• The station’s historical building will have a new 110-room hotel, run by Sage Hospitality.
• The now empty area behind the station will be completely developed with both commercial and residential space.

Denver Union Station Update

Progress on the Union Station project is in full swing and now, final installations are quite noticeable. If you can look past the mountains of dirt, the barricade of chain link fences, and the endless line of construction equipment, some of the project’s final details can be seen. Behind the historic station, a huge canopy structure has been installed, closely resembling the Highlands Bridge, just a few blocks down 16th Street. The juxtaposition of the modern, contemporary sculpture next to the classic, historic station adds an exciting sight for LoDo. On either side of the canopy, the construction of the Cadence Apartments is in underway. For those of you who don’t know what this project is, the Cadence Apartments will offer 13 floors and 220 units of residential, urban living. The project is one of the first for the new Union Station neighborhood and is scheduled for completion in Fall 2013. But quite possibly the biggest news is the station itself. Although it is still open for people to tour through, that could come to a halt as soon as the end of the year. Once the project team in charge of the station’s renovation receives final approval, Union Station will be closed until the renovation is complete in 2014. So if you want to see the inside before it’s unrecognizable, now is your chance. Denver Infill will be hosting another Union Station tour this Saturday, November 17th. This could the last chance to see inside, so take advantage of this tour!

Big City, Train Boom in US

It is hard to miss the massive renovation that Union Station is currently under. It may be visibly difficult to see what is actually happening in the large pits surrounding the station, but numerous blogs and news articles will tell you that the rail depots and terminals are getting quite the upgrade. And Denver is not the only city making this momentous investment. Throughout the United States, somewhat rundown and underused rail stations are finally getting the attention they deserve. In the early 1900’s, train travel was the best, and cheapest, way to get around the country. And the train stations that housed these popular terminals were architectural gems, invoking various architectural styles and design innovations, as seen by the Los Angeles Union Station. As train travel started to decline, the design of these stations did as well, giving way to bland, and architecturally boring, buildings. A prime example is the Salt Lake City Amtrak Station, a drab box that hardly elicits a second glance. But with the resurgence of train travel, cities are starting to invest in their train stations and give these historic structures a modern finish. The New York Moynihan Station will involve the classic Penn Station and the historical post office next door, while the Washington DC Union Station will add on to the existing station. The historic Seattle King Street Station is getting a major renovation and who can forget about Denver’s own Union Station, with plans to create a new multimodal transportation hub in downtown. This new train boom is paving the way for a different way to travel around the United States, yet maintaining its historic roots.