St. Louis Union Station

Hello!

I've just returned from four days in St. Louis where my wife attended a work conference and I tagged along as her "plus one".   While she participated in the conference I toured the city known  as the "Gateway to the West"!    Our stay had a predominant railroad theme as the conference was located at the former Union Station on Market Street downtown which is now a 4 star hotel.   Below are exterior photos of this magnificent Romanesque structure apparently modeled after a castle in France.   The city intended to create a station rivaling those of New York and other large cities to put St. Louis on the map as a rail center.   Completed in 1894, they succeeded in building a beautiful and enduring station that at one time was known as the largest passenger terminal in the U.S, and the second greatest handler of U.S. mail by rail.  

The station's interior is as impressive and ornate as the exterior with its most notable feature being the Grand Hall with its elaborate artwork, sculpture and high arched roof.   It really was breathtaking to open the door and be presented with this sight the first time we arrived!  

Beautiful stained glass and intricate designs on the walls and ceiling make this room a work of art. 

This famous stained glass window features three mythological women representing the important rail stations of San Francisco and New York, with St.  Louis in the middle.

A mural of the St. Louis riverside with a steam locomotive hangs behind the check in area. 

Statures and frescoes of more mythological women bear lamps and light fixtures.   We read a story about those statues holding the lamps at the top of the arch.  Apparently when the station was being redeveloped after years of neglect the statues were recovered and required some repair.  One was accidentally knocked over, shattering the plaster work to pieces.  A replacement was made by creating a mold from a surviving figure.  Supposedly no one knows which of the four statues in the Grand Hall is not original.

The Grand Hall is a memorable place to sit and have a drink or some snacks.  You can sense the history and its easy to imagine passengers from decades before scurrying through the hall or waiting for their trains.    In addition to conveying an atmosphere of appreciating the past, the hotel offers amazing high tech projection shows on the walls and ceiling every hour on the hour from 5:00-11:00.  The themes of the presentations vary.  Some reflect local history while others celebrate pop culture such as the Beatles, or currently a tribute to the rock group Queen.   Music, moving light effects, and projected images create a total sensory experience!   Here is a video example I found on YouTube.  I was especially captivated by the way the light effects employed the frescoes of the female torch bearers on the walls. 

Union Station was known for its enormous train shed that, at its most busy time. covered 42 tracks allowing multiple trains to back in from the yard behind the station.  The skeletal structure of the shed is still in place and can be seen from behind the hotel/station, still bearing its ST. LOUIS UNION STATION sign.

While in operation as a rail station the shed roof was covered in tin and glass to protect passengers from the elements.   Here are reproductions of a couple of vintage pictures I photographed from an interpretive sign.

When the modern hotel was added to the back of the station it was constructed partly under the train shed.  The area between building wings is landscaped as a courtyard.

Continuing outside, the shed now covers a small man made lake and a seafood restaurant.  A brief light and fire show set to music happens here hourly.   Those large flowers in the lake spew jets of flame!  

Here is a YouTube video of one such show...a little odd but kind of fun to watch at night.

But wait!  There's a lot more to see!  Train fans staying at the hotel can enjoy walking outside beyond the seafood restaurant to view up close several streamlined vintage passenger cars parked along the old platforms!!!

They include this Pennsylvania R.R. coach.

You can walk right up to the cars and stroll the platforms thousands if not millions of passengers used over the last century.

The rear porch of a business car.  You can imagine Harry Truman holding up the "Dewey Defeats Truman" newspaper headline in that famous photograph that was taken at Union Station. 

The Thunder Bay baggage car is labeled for the CN but a number of cars are identified as belonging to the Railroad Museum of Galveston Texas. 

The long signal bridges are still in place.

This switcher appears operable and may have been used to place the vintage cars in their display locations. 

Here is the lead from the station to the yard.  A couple of AMTRAK units were idling behind an abandoned yard tower.

AMTRAK #123 was also idling a little farther up the tracks.  The yard is easily viewed from behind the passenger car display.  The Metra-link trains I rode to visit several St. Louis sites followed this yard for a few miles and I observed NS, CSX, UP, and BNSF power heading trains.

Another notable railroad location right next to Union Station is the very nice Drury Inn which at one time was a railroad workers YMCA.  More history!

As a final note I thought I'd show you some of the hotel room decor.  We were on the second floor which is the B&O floor.    These pictures were in our room.

...and here are a couple of pics from the hotel's Starbucks.   A G scale model railroad...

...and a station track diagram printed on the table.

St. Louis' Union Station, an impressive place to stay, especially for train fans!

Thanks for taking a look!