Union Station | |
 The building in 2020 | |
    | |
| Location | 501 Crawford St.,Houston, Texas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 29°45′25″N95°21′23″W / 29.75694°N 95.35639°W /29.75694; -95.35639 |
| Area | 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1911 (1911) |
| Architect | Warren & Wetmore |
| Architectural style | Classical Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 77001448[1] |
| TSAL No. | 337 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 10, 1977 |
| Designated TSAL | 5/28/1981 |
Union Station is a building inHouston,Texas, in the United States. Dedicated on March 2, 1911, and formerly a hub of rail transportation, the building now serves as a cornerstone forDaikin Park.[2] It is listed on theNational Register of Historic Places, and has since been superseded byHouston's Amtrak station.
In 1909 the Houston Belt and Terminal Railway Company commissioned the design of a newunion station for Houston fromNew York City-based architectsWarren and Wetmore. The location called for the demolition of several structures of Houston prominence.Horace Baldwin Rice's residence andAdath Yeshurun Congregation's synagogue among other structures were removed.[3]
With an original estimated cost of US$1 million, Union Station was constructed by the American Construction Company for an eventual total of five times that amount.[4] Exterior walls were constructed ofgranite,limestone, andterracotta, while the interior used an extensive amount ofmarble. It was completed and opened on March 1, 1911. At the time, Houston, with seventeen railways, was considered the main railroad hub of theSouthern United States.[5] This is also evident by theSeal of Houston, which prominently features a locomotive. Two more floors were added the following year.[6]
The station served as the main inter-city passenger terminal for Houston for over seven decades thereafter.
Major railroad lines served:[7]
TheSouthern Pacific Railroad maintained its own station approximately one mile from Union Station. TheMissouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad also maintained its own station about 0.8 miles from Union Station.
| Preceding station | Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Houston –Galveston | Mykawa towardGalveston | ||
| Preceding station | Burlington-Rock Island Railroad | Following station | ||
| Tomball towardTeague | Teague –Houston | Terminus | ||
| Preceding station | Missouri Pacific Railroad | Following station | ||
| League City towardGalveston | Galveston –Longview | Aldine towardLongview | ||
| Terminus | Houston –New Orleans | Magnolia Park towardNew Orleans | ||
Passenger rail declined greatly afterWorld War II. WhenAmtrak took over most intercity rail service in 1971, Union Station was one of two stations used by the new company, the other being thenew Southern Pacific station built in 1959 that served theSunset Limited. However, it soon became apparent that Amtrak could not afford to maintain two stations in the area. The last regularly scheduled train that stopped at Union Station, theLone Star (successor of theTexas Chief), was rerouted to the Southern Pacific station on July 31, 1974. With this move, the building effectively ceased to be a public facility and was taken over by the Houston Belt & Terminal and its parent railroads as office space and a dispatching center. One section of the building in the south end of the second floor was leased to the Houston Society of Model Engineers, which operated a large HO scale model railroad layout they named the "Texas, Crawford & Prairie RR", after the three streets which form the boundary of the original property of the station. On November 10, 1977, the building was named to theNational Register of Historic Places.
In 2005Southern Pacific2-10-2 982 was moved fromHermann Park to the corner of Texas Avenue and Avenidas de las Americas between the George R. Brown Convention Center and Union Station.[8] In 2013 it was donated to the Nau Center for Texas Culture to be located in the Get Big Things Done gallery[9] However, construction of the Center was halted in March 2015 due to "[s]kyrocketing construction costs and the challenge of raising $80 million within a short period..."[10]
Plans for a new Houstonballpark to replace theAstrodome began in 1995, and originally called for a site to be used at theAstrodomain. In August 1996, Houston's Union Station received a US$2 million grant from theTexas Transportation Commission for renovation in a separate project.[11] Plans for the new ballpark's location drastically changed by September mostly in response toEnron ChairmanKenneth Lay's input and pledge to substantially contribute to funding if placed downtown.[12] It was at this time that the Union Station location was proposed by Lay.
Construction ofEnron Field, now named Daikin Park, was completed thereafter with Union Station preserved and renovated as the ballpark's main lobby. It opened on April 7, 2000.
Media related toUnion Station (Houston) at Wikimedia Commons
