Kansas City Union Station

{{Short description|Historic train station in Kansas City}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Infobox station | name = Union Station<br>{{small|Kansas City, MO}} | other_name = | style = Amtrak | image = KCUnionStation.jpg | address = 30 West Pershing Road<br>[[Kansas City, Missouri]] | coordinates = {{coord|39.0848|-94.5853|type:railwaystation_region:US-MO|display=inline,title}} | owned = Union Station Assistance Corporation | line = [[Kansas City Terminal Railway]] | platform = 1 [[island platform]] | tracks = 4 | other = | accessible = Yes | bicycle = | parking = Yes | code = {{Amtrak code|KCY}} | zone = | website = {{URL|unionstation.org}} | closed = 1983 (except Amtrak Bubble) 1985 (Entire station closed) | former = Union Depot (April 8, 1878–October 31, 1914), [[West Bottoms]] | opened = {{Start date and age|October 30, 1914}} | rebuilt = November 10, 1999 (with [[Science City at Union Station|Science City]]);<br/>2002 (Amtrak service resumed) | mpassengers = {{rail pass box|system=Amtrak|passengers={{Amtrak ridership|Kansas City}}{{Amtrak ridership|citationMO}}|pass_year={{Amtrak ridership|date}}}} | services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=Amtrak |line1=Missouri River Runner|right1=Independence |line2=Southwest Chief|left2=Lawrence|right2=La Plata |system3=KC Streetcar|line3=KC Streetcar|left3=Crossroads|right3=WWI Museum & Memorial }} | other_services_header = Former services | other_services_collapsible = yes | other_services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=Amtrak |line1=Lone Star|left1=Lawrence|right1=Carrollton |line2=National Limited|right2=Warrensburg |system3=Alton Railroad|line3=Kansas City-St. Louis|right3=Independence |system4=Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway |line4=main|left4=Kansas City, Kansas|right4=Sheffield |system5=Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad |line5=Kansas City-Galesburg|right5=North Kansas City |line6=Omaha-Kansas City|left6=Parkville, MO |line7=Kansas City–St. Louis|right7=North Kansas City |line8=Kansas City-Quincy|right8=North Kansas City  |system10=Chicago Great Western Railway|line10=Main Line|right10=Bee Creek |system11=Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad |line11=Teague-Minneapolis|left11=North Topeka|right11=Harlem |line12=Tucumcari-Rock Island|left12=North Topeka|right12=Harlem |line13=Kansas City-Belleville|left13=Kansas City, Kansas |line14=Kansas City-St. Louis|right14=Sheffield |system15=Frisco |line15=Kansas City-Birmingham|right15=Rosedale |system16=Kansas City Southern Railway |line16=Main Line|right16=Grandview |system17=Milwaukee Road|line17=Kansas City-Savanna|right17=Liberty |system18=Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad|line18=Kansas City-Parsons|right18=Paola |system19=Missouri Pacific Railroad |line19=Main|right19=Independence |line20=Pueblo-Kansas City|left20=Centropolis |line21=Omaha-Kansas City|left21=Pomeroy |system22=Union Pacific Railroad|line22=Kansas Pacific Railway|left22=Topeka |system23=Wabash Railroad|line23=Main|right23=North Kansas City}} | nrhp = {{Infobox NRHP | name = Union Station | embed = yes | nrhp_type = | image = | caption = | location = Pershing Rd. and Main St., [[Kansas City, Missouri]] | mapframe = yes | mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#{{rcr|Amtrak}} |zoom=14 }} | built = 1901 | architect = [[Jarvis Hunt]] | architecture = [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] | added = February 1, 1972 | area = {{convert|20.2|acre|1}} | refnum = 72000719<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref> }} | logo = | logo_size = | image_size = | image_caption = }}

'''Kansas City Union Station''' ([[station code]]: KCY) is a [[union station]] that opened in 1914, serving [[Kansas City, Missouri]], and the [[Kansas City metropolitan area|surrounding metropolitan area]]. It replaced a small Union Depot built in 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of more than 670,000 passengers in 1945 at the end of [[World War II]], but traffic quickly declined in the 1950s, and the station was closed in 1985.

In 1996, a public–private partnership undertook a $250 million restoration, funded in part by a sales tax levied in [[Kansas]] and [[Missouri]] [[County (United States)|counties]] of the [[Kansas City metropolitan area]].<ref name="Bistate">{{cite news | title=Audit: Bistate Commission spent tax money properly | date=August 26, 2002 | work=Kansas City Business Journal | url=https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/stories/2002/08/26/daily6.html | access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> By 1999, the station had reopened as a suite of attractions, including museums. In 2002, train service returned when [[Amtrak]] began public transportation services, and the station became Missouri's second-busiest train station. The refurbished station has theaters, ongoing museum exhibits, and attractions such as [[Science City at Union Station|Science City]], the [[Irish Museum and Cultural Center]], and the [[Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity]]. Since 2016, it has been a stop for the [[KC Streetcar]].

==History== [[File:Union Depot in Kansas City, Union Depot, which opened in April 1878 in an area now known as West Bottoms. Following a flood it was replaced by Union Station in 1914.jpg|thumb| Union Depot, {{circa|1880}}|left|200x200px]] ===Union Depot era=== On April 8, 1878, Union Depot opened on a narrow triangle of land in Kansas City, Missouri, between Union Avenue and the railroad tracks of the [[Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad]] in what became [[West Bottoms]].<ref>{{coord|39.103237|-94.5966428|scale:5000|name=Location of the former Union Depot, Kansas City, MO|display=inline}}</ref><ref name="UnionDepot">{{cite web | title= Union Avenue completed 1878, demolished 1915 | url= http://www.kchistory.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/Building_Pr&CISOPTR=23&filename=24.pdf | work= Missouri Valley Special Collections | first= Susan Jezak | last= Ford | publisher= [[Kansas City Public Library]] | year= 1999 | access-date= 2012-08-19 | archive-date= April 1, 2017 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170401221549/http://www.kchistory.org/cgi-bin/showfile.exe?CISOROOT=/Building_Pr&CISOPTR=23&filename=24.pdf | url-status= dead }}</ref> Nicknamed the "Jackson County Insane Asylum" by those who thought it was too large. It was the second [[union station]] in the country,<ref name="UnionDepot" /> after the [[Indianapolis Union Station]]. Union Depot's architecture was a hybrid of [[Second Empire architecture|Second Empire]] and [[Gothic Revival]]. The lead architect was [[Asa Beebe Cross]], who "adorned the exterior of the building with intricate towers of varying heights, arched windows framed in stone and rows of dormers projecting from the steeply pitched [[mansard roof]]".<ref name="UnionDepot" /> It had a [[clock tower]] above the main entrance that was {{convert|125|ft}} in height. By the 20th century, over 180 trains were passing daily through the station, serving a city population that had tripled.<ref name="UnionDepot" /> In 1903, the lack of room for expansion and a major flood<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.kshs.org/kansapedia/flood-of-1903/17221 | title= Flood of 1903 |work= Kansapedia| publisher= [[Kansas Historical Society]] | access-date= 2012-08-19}}</ref> led the city and the railroads to decide a new station was required.

===Union Station era=== [[File:UnionStation1921.jpg|thumb|A large crowd gathered in front of Union Station for the 1921 dedication of the [[Liberty Memorial]] site.]] The decision to build a new station was spearheaded by the [[Kansas City Terminal Railway]], a [[switching and terminal railroad]] that was a joint operation of several railroads: [[Alton Railroad|Alton]]; [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe]]; [[Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Chicago, Burlington and Quincy]]; [[Chicago Great Western Railway|Chicago Great Western]]; [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific]]; [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific]]; [[Kansas City Southern Railway|Kansas City Southern]]; [[Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad|Missouri-Kansas-Texas]]; [[Missouri Pacific Railroad|Missouri Pacific]]; [[St. Louis-San Francisco Railway|St. Louis-San Francisco]]; [[Union Pacific Railroad|Union Pacific]]; and [[Wabash Railroad|Wabash]].

The new location was at a valley at 25th Street and Grand Avenue used by the Kansas City Belt Railway. It was south of the [[central business district]], above and away from the [[floodplain]].<ref name="UnionDepot" /> Architect [[Jarvis Hunt]] was a proponent of the [[City Beautiful]] movement.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://homepages.math.uic.edu/~tangora/JarvisHunt.html|title=Jarvis Hunt, architect|publisher= University of Illinois at Chicago |access-date= May 14, 2014}}</ref> The [[Beaux-Arts architecture]] design was a main hall for ticketing, and a perpendicular hall extending out above the tracks for passenger waiting. The building encompassed {{convert|850000| sqft}} and the ceiling in the Grand Hall is {{convert|95|ft}} high. There are three chandeliers weighing 3,500 pounds (1600 kg) each, and the Grand Hall clock face is {{convert|6|ft}} in diameter.<ref name=usa2019 /> The building's scale reflects Kansas City's central location as a hub for both passenger and freight rail traffic.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

The station opened on October 30, 1914, as the third-largest train station in the country.<ref name=usa2019>{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/travel/experience/2019/05/26/amtrak-train-stations-history-12-grand-stations-across-u-s/3695435002/|title=12 grand Amtrak train stations and their histories|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=May 26, 2019|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>

===Kansas City massacre=== {{main|Kansas City massacre}} The [[Kansas City massacre]] occurred on June 17, 1933, in front of Union Station, while captured fugitive [[Frank Nash]] was to be delivered to prison via train. Four lawmen (including [[FBI]]) were murdered by the [[Kansas City crime family]] with [[Thompson submachine gun|Thompson submachine guns]] in an attempt to free Nash,<ref name="wdaf">{{cite web|url=https://fox4kc.com/2019/06/16/86-years-later-a-dark-day-in-kansas-city-remembered/|title=86 years later, a dark day in Kansas City remembered|last=Silvey|first=Jennifer|publisher=[[WDAF-TV]]|date=June 16, 2019|access-date=August 13, 2019|archive-date=July 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190715202809/https://fox4kc.com/2019/06/16/86-years-later-a-dark-day-in-kansas-city-remembered/|url-status=dead}}</ref> who was also killed in the gun battle. The massacre highlighted the lawlessness of Kansas City under the [[Tom Pendergast|Pendergast Machine]] and resulted in the [[Kansas City massacre#Changes at the FBI|arming of all FBI agents]].<ref name="wdaf" />

===Decline of train traffic=== In 1945, annual passenger traffic peaked at 678,363. The demand for a large train station declined in the 1950s. In 1973, it had 32,842 passengers, all passenger train service was now run by Amtrak, and the building was deteriorating. Kansas City government wanted to preserve and redevelop the building, and, in 1974, made a development deal with [[Canada|Canadian]] redeveloper [[Trizec Properties|Trizec Corporation]].<ref name=timeline>{{cite web|url=https://www.unionstation.org/timeline|title=Timeline|year=2019|publisher=Kansas City Union Station|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> Between 1979 and 1986, Trizec constructed two office buildings on surrounding property, but did not redevelop the station. The deteriorating station closed in 1983, except a "bubble" inside the main hall housing Amtrak's operations until 1985, when all passenger operations were moved to a smaller "[[Amtrak Standard Stations Program|Amshack]]" facility adjacent to the old station. In 1988, the city sued Trizec for the failure to develop the station and settled in 1994.<ref name="timeline" /> For most of this period, the building continued to decay.

===Restoration=== [[File:Union Station (7638155320).jpg|thumb|Fountains are in the street in front of Union Station (2012).]] [[File:Interior, Union Station (Kansas City) - DSC07829.JPG|thumb|The Grand Hall is inside the entrance (2011).]] [[File:Interior, Union Station (Kansas City) - DSC07833.JPG|thumb|The Grand Plaza or North Waiting Room is beyond the Grand Hall (2011).]] In 1996, residents in five counties throughout the [[Kansas City metropolitan area]] in both [[Kansas]] and [[Missouri]] approved the so-called "bistate tax", a 1/8 of a cent [[sales tax]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marc.org/Government/Bistate-Commission|title=Bi-State Commission|year=2019|website=[[Mid-America Regional Council]]|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> part of which helped to fund just under half of the $250 million restoration of Union Station.<ref name=timeline /> Renovation began in 1997 and was completed in 1999. The remaining money was raised through private donations and federal funding. The renovations enabled Amtrak to move its operations back inside the main building in 2002.

Union Station receives no public funding. Operating costs are funded by general admission and theater ticketing, grants, corporate and private donations, commercial space leases, and facility rental. Union Station Kansas City, Inc., a nonprofit [[501(c) organization#501.28c.29.283.29|501(c)(3) organization]], manages Union Station and had previously managed the [[Kansas City Museum]].<ref name="propublica">{{cite web | url=https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/431890025 | title=Union Station Kansas City, Inc. | date=May 9, 2013 | publisher=Propublica | access-date=April 19, 2020}}</ref> Union Station hosts [[Science City at Union Station|Science City]] (opened in 1999), a family-friendly interactive science center with more than 50 hands-on exhibits;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article37260063.html|title=Science City takes important steps to woo more young visitors|newspaper=[[The Kansas City Star]]|date=October 1, 2015|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref> the H&R Block City Stage Theater, a live-action venue with productions for all ages; the Regnier Extreme Screen, the largest movie screen in the region at five and half stories tall; two restaurants, including Pierponts, an upscale steak and seafood restaurant, and Harvey's; many shops; the Gottlieb Planetarium, the largest [[planetarium]] in the area; and various temporary museum exhibits including ''[[Dead Sea Scrolls]]'' in 2007, ''Bodies Revealed'' in 2008, ''[[Dialog in the Dark]]'' in 2009, ''Dinosaurs Unearthed'' in 2010 and ''Diana, A Celebration'' focusing upon [[Princess Diana]] in 2011. The [[Irish Museum and Cultural Center]] has been located in the station since March 17, 2007.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2016/09/02/kc-irish-center-buys-a-new-home-historic-drexel.html|title=KC Irish Center buys a new home: historic Drexel Hall|last=Roberts|first=Rob|publisher=[[Kansas City Business Journal]]|date=September 2, 2016|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>

The old Union Station Powerhouse building was renovated by the [[Kansas City Ballet]]. It is the ballet's new home and has been named the [[Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity]] since August 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kcballet.org/blog/a-brief-history-of-the-bolender-center/|title=A brief history of the Bolender Center|year=2019|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref>

===Notable events=== In April 2015 and 2017, the reality TV show ''[[American Ninja Warrior]]'' was filmed at Union Station.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/tv/article13205879.html|title=NBC's 'American Ninja Warrior' will film at Union Station in April|last=Engle|first=Tim|newspaper=[[The Kansas City Star]]|date=March 10, 2015|access-date=August 13, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/tv/article146543129.html|title=At Union Station Monday Night: They Came, They Saw, They Ninja'd (And Got Soaked)|newspaper=The Kansas City Star|access-date=2018-01-11}}</ref>

The [[2023 NFL draft]] was held in front of, and partially inside, Union Station in April 2023.

===2024 parade shooting=== {{main|2024 Kansas City parade shooting}} On February 14, 2024, a [[mass shooting]] occurred in front of Union Station immediately after the [[Super Bowl LVIII]] victory parade and rally honoring the [[Kansas City Chiefs]]. One person was killed and 22 others were injured.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/kansas-city-chiefs-parade-shooting-02-14-24/index.html|first1=Tori B.|last1=Powell|first2=Elise|last2=Hammond|first3=Maureen|last3=Chowdbury|title=Live updates: Chiefs Super Bowl rally shooting leaves one dead and multiple injured |publisher=CNN|date=February 14, 2024|accessdate=February 14, 2024}}</ref>

==Amtrak== The station is served by four [[Amtrak]] trains daily. The ''[[Missouri River Runner]]'' has round trip service to [[Gateway Transportation Center]] in [[St. Louis]]. The ''[[Southwest Chief]]'' departs for [[Chicago Union Station]] in the morning and for [[Union Station (Los Angeles)|Los Angeles Union Station]] late evening.

Of the twelve Missouri stations served by [[Amtrak]], Kansas City was the second busiest in the 2015 [[fiscal year]], boarding or disembarking an average 421 passengers daily.<ref>{{cite web |title= Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2015, State of Missouri |publisher= [[Amtrak]] |date= November 2015 |url= https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/257/642/MISSOURI15.pdf |access-date= 2016-01-11 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160820011945/https://www.amtrak.com/ccurl/257/642/MISSOURI15.pdf |archive-date= 2016-08-20 }}</ref>

==Gallery== {{Gallery | noborder=yes | File:KANSAS CITY'S UNION STATION SHOWN FILLED WITH TRAVELERS WHEN THIS BLACK AND WHITE PICTURE WAS TAKEN SOMETIME IN THE... - NARA - 556018.jpg | A typical crowd in the Grand Hall of the new Union Station, {{circa|1950s}} | File:Norfolk and Western 2478 with Train 210, the City of St. Louis at the Kansas City, MO Union Station (26992146932).jpg | Norfolk and Western's ''City of St. Louis'' at Union Station in 1967 | File:LOADING PLATFORM AT UNION STATION IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI THE OLD ENGINE PULLED A TRAIN FROM NEW YORK WHICH WILL... - NARA - 556022.jpg | Loading platform, 1974 }}

==See also== {{Portal|Missouri}} * [[List of Amtrak stations]] * [[Pencoyd Railroad Bridge (Kansas City, Missouri)]]

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Union Station (Kansas City)}} * {{Official website}} {{Amtrak web|KCY|Kansas City, MO}} * [http://www.360kc.com/Attractions/Museums/UnionStation.html 360KC.com, Union Station, 360° visual Internet tours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026214829/http://www.360kc.com/Attractions/Museums/UnionStation.html |date=October 26, 2020 }}

[[Category:1914 establishments in Missouri]] [[Category:Amtrak stations in Missouri|Kansas City]] [[Category:Former Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Downtown Kansas City]] [[Category:Former Chicago and Alton Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Chicago Great Western Railway stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Milwaukee Road stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Kansas City Southern Railway stations]] [[Category:Former Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad stations]] [[Category:Former Missouri Pacific Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former St. Louis–San Francisco Railway stations]] [[Category:Former Wabash Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Passenger rail transportation in Kansas]] [[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1914]] [[Category:Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri]] [[Category:Tourist attractions in Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Transit centers in the United States]] [[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Former Union Pacific Railroad stations|Kansas City, Missouri]] [[Category:Union stations in the United States]] [[Category:Railway stations in the United States closed in 1985]] [[Category:Locations of mass shootings]]