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Union Station Reborn When the last train pulled out of St. Louis Union Station in 1978, the station's future was definitely in danger, but now the place is a National Historic Landmark and St. Louis's number one attraction. By Susan Bard Hall
Two years earlier, President Truman escorted former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on another train that departed St. Louis for Jefferson City, Missouri, en route to Fulton, Missouri, where Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech. Many historians date the start of the Cold War with this speech on March 5, 1946. During World War II, troops from around the country moved through here. In all three of these historic snapshots, "here" is St. Louis Union Station. It had a grand beginning. In 1891, the Terminal Railroad Association sponsored a national competition for its design. Theodore C. Link, a St. Louis architect and former railroader, submitted the winning entry. His design included the Headhouse, the Midway and the Train Shed. The Headhouse, designed to suggest a medieval bastioned gate, contained the ticket office, waiting rooms, a 70-room Terminal Hotel and a restaurant. The Midway was a covered transfer area for passengers. The Train Shed, one of the largest ever built, was an 11.5-acre roofed area of loading platforms and 31 tracks. Constructed at a cost of $6.5 million, St. Louis Union Station opened on September 1, 1894. Years later, the Train Shed was extended by another 30 feet in anticipation of the influx of visitors to the 1904 World's Fair. Between 1941 and 1945, 200 trains—and 100,000 people—passed through Union Station daily. It was the world's largest and busiest railroad terminal. But by 1969, only 14 trains a day were using Union Station. The last train pulled out on October 31, 1978, destination Chicago. In March 1979, Oppenheimer Properties bought the station for $5.5 million, $1 million less than the cost to build it 85 years earlier. They intended to convert the huge facility into specialty retail stores, restaurants, entertainment space and a hotel.
"People in St. Louis have a tremendous memory of this building. They saw people off here; they arrived here at the station, and stayed here to live. Without taking away the memory of what it was, we wanted to again make it a place where people congregate," Obata said. They succeeded. On August 29, 1985, St. Louis Union Station reopened its doors. Restored and revitalized, it's the most visited destination in St. Louis, more popular than the Gateway Arch, Busch Stadium, Anheuser Busch Brewery, the St. Louis Zoo and the riverboat casinos, all of them close by. (Also close by is a much smaller St. Louis train station.) Under one roof, Union Station has 11 acres of restaurants, 100 or so specialty shops, an indoor lake with paddleboat rides and a Hyatt Regency hotel. What once was the station Headhouse now includes some shops, 67 of the Hyatt Regency Hotel St. Louis's 538 guest-rooms, conference rooms, Grand Hall and the Station Grille restaurant (the former Fred Harvey House) serving innovative cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. An old safe, recently discovered in a former storage room, was moved to the Station Grille and converted into a cigar shop. These 67 guestrooms reflect early 20th-century elegance. Some feature four-poster beds, and all have high-backed chairs, activity tables, brass fixtures in the marble bathrooms, irons and ironing boards. The Grand Hall's six-story, 65-foot barrel-vaulted ceiling is filled with frescoes, bas-reliefs, gilt and stained glass. One of the stained glass windows, the "Allegorical Window," depicts the New York, San Francisco and St. Louis train stations during the 1890s. The window is framed by the famous "Whispering Arch," where a visitor's whisper at one end of the arch can be heard at the other end, some 40 feet away. The Midway section of the station has been transformed into two levels of retail shops, as well as areas for performances and exhibits. The Train Shed has been reglazed and reroofed. Two levels of stores and restaurants share the area along with the indoor lake; a plaza; the hotel's sidewalk cafe, Aldo's, featuring northern Italian cuisine; and the hotel's Garden Building with another 469 guestrooms. Verciglio says all these guestrooms face the gardens or pool area and are well-appointed with contemporary furnishings, marble bathrooms with television and telephone, iron, ironing board and in-room coffeemaker. The Garden Building also includes the Executive Suite and the Presidential Suite, each with rich Victorian decor including mahogany furniture, wet bars and oversized bathtubs. Visitors can learn more about St. Louis Union Station by watching a 12-minute slide presentation on the station's history. A 50-cent donation is requested. For two dollars, guided walking tours focus on the historical, architectural and retail aspects of Union Station. There's also a self-guided walking tour covering the story of Union Station's architecture, trains and people. A highlight of the tour is a display of over 500 letters of personal remembrances by former employees, travelers and friends. St. Louis Union Station was once a place travelers passed through on their way from one destination to another. Today, it is a destination in its own right. Make your reservation and make tracks!
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