Kansas City Union Station (Tour) - Clio

Entries on This Tour

1. Grand Hall and Union Station Stories

Visitors to Kansas City following its opening in 1914 considered Union Station's Grand Hall to be the city's front porch. For nearly anyone in that era, Union Station was the first impression and final memory for those traveling to or from the city. Following a $250 million restoration funded by a sales tax levy and private investment, the station reopened in 1999 with a variety of restaurants and attractions. The central feature of Grand Hall is Harvey's Restaurant, a nod to the influence of Kansas City-area railroad restaurant innovator Fred Harvey. Dedicated on October 31st, 2014, for the centennial anniversary of Union Station, Union Station Stories is a self-guided exhibit that tells the story of the station from its conception through construction, opening, operation, degradation, and restoration. Offering sweeping 2nd and 3rd-story views, Union Station Stories provides rich context and stunning vantages of a living piece of history. The exhibit entrance is inside the Southwest Elevator Chamber near the Pershing Street entrance.

2. Jarvis Hunt Room and Postal Service Exhibit

Named in honor of Jarvis Hunt, the Chicago-based architect who designed Union Station, this space at the northwest corner of Grand Hall was home to a men's smoking lounge. After being selected as the architect, Hunt was given a single imperative to work with in his designs: "Make a monument." The space is now utilized for banquets and meetings. The room features some of Union Station's historic chandeliers and marble floors. Jarvis Hunt designed numerous structures throughout the nation, including some of Kansas City's current landmarks, such as the Kansas City Star Building and the Commerce Trust Building. Just south of the Jarvis Hunt Room is an exhibit highlighting the connection between Union Station and the postal service. The utilization of railroads to transport mail, especially after the completion of transcontinental routes, altered the way people in the eastern and western United States communicated. After the completion of Union Station, most of the mail crossing the country passed through Kansas City. This exhibit highlights the advances made to both increase the efficiency of the process and protect the health of Rail Post Office (RPO) workers. Established by the Government Employees Health Association (GEHA) in collaboration with Union Station, the exhibit was dedicated on November 19, 2020.

3. Grand Plaza, Union Station

For decades, Union Station’s Grand Plaza was the first and last glimpse of Kansas City travelers saw as they arrived and departed by train. This earned the sprawling room, and the station as a whole, the title of “Kansas City’s Front Porch.” Following the restoration of Union Station, the Grand Plaza has become one of the most sought-after event spaces in town.

4. Model Train Exhibit & Haverty Freight House Bridge

Originally a holiday display in the Grand Hall, Union Station's Model Train Exhibit outgrew its space and moved to a dedicated, year-round location at the north end of the Grand Plaza. Run entirely by volunteers, the model rails fill all available space as the trains wind through representations of many iconic locations in Kansas City. Nearby, visitors can access the Haverty Freight House Bridge, which spans the historic Union Station railyards and provides a walkway to the Crossroads District.

5. Fred Harvey's Sign, Haverty Railroad Gallery, and Railroad China Collection

Union Station continues to serve rail passengers via Amtrak, which returned to Union Station after departing in 1985. Next to the Amtrak waiting room is a historic sign for Fred Harvey's restaurant chain, which once operated throughout the region. Perhaps the first true chain restaurant in American history, Fred Harvey's railroad depots thrived because they met a need in an era when travelers had few dining options. Fred Harvey pioneered a model that served travelers quickly and efficiently, and his methods were soon repeated at depots along the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad. Nearby are displays of custom flatware and images that showcase a moment in American History when rail travel was an elegant, sophisticated, and elevated means of transportation.

6. Officer's Memorial, Kansas City Massacre (1933); Union Station's Lamp Post Clock

On the morning of June 17th, 1933, unknown assailants opened fire on local police and federal agents who were escorting convicted mobster Fred Nash back to the Leavenworth Penitentiary. The event drew significant attention to the nature of organized crime, and this act thereafter changed many of the standard procedures of the FBI. Just south of the marker honoring the officers who perished in the Kansas City Massacre is a stately outdoor clock that was located at 10th and Main in the 1880s. South of this spot, one can see a historic clock that predates Union Station and the railroad station in the West Bottoms that served the city in the late 19th century. The clock dates back to the 1880s and was located at the corner of 10th and Main. The clock was refurbished and restored in the late 1990s thanks to the Helzberg family. The clock was damaged in a 2015 storm but was restored thanks to the Rainen family and was dedicated at this location in 2016.

This Tour is a Virtual Museum or Site Tour.

Kansas City Union Station

Created by David J. Trowbridge on July 1st 2016, 6:18:18 am.

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Description

When it was completed in 1914, Kansas City's Union Station was the third-largest railroad station in the country. The historic structure has since been restored to its former grandeur and now offers a variety of educational and cultural attractions, including Science City, theaters, restaurants, retail shops, office space, and museum exhibits. The Beaux-Arts style building, noted for its colossal size and fine ornamentation, was part of the "City Beautiful Movement" to develop more green spaces and aesthetically pleasing public facilities in Kansas City. The station served as the heart of the city's booming transportation industry in the early twentieth century, when Kansas City was at the intersection of multiple railroads. During its peak, over 200 trains passed through the Union Station daily. The facility experienced a period of decline and deterioration from the 1950s to the 1980s as passenger rail traffic collapsed. Union Station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, an era when the station was experiencing continued decline, as well as support from preservationists and some city leaders who considered ideas for adaptive reuse. Community efforts, starting in the 1990s, led to a $250 million project to restore and revitalize the station as a major commercial and educational center. Union Station is one of the city's leading landmarks today and serves as a model for the potential of adaptive reuse in historic structures.

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