Louisville, KY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 The former platform for theKentucky Cardinal at Louisville Union Station. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 1000 West Broadway,Louisville,Kentucky USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 38°14′46″N85°46′8″W / 38.24611°N 85.76889°W /38.24611; -85.76889 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| System | inter-city rail station | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tracks | 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architect | F.W. Mowbray,Col Henry C. Wolters | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Architectural style | Romanesque | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| History | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1891 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Closed | 1979 (first time) July 5, 2003 (second time) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Former services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Union Station | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Front and western side at sunset | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NRHP reference No. | 75000777[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Added to NRHP | August 11, 1975 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TheUnion Station ofLouisville, Kentucky is a historicrailroad station that serves as offices for theTransit Authority of River City (TARC), as it has since mid-April 1980 after receiving a year-long restoration costing approximately $2 million. It was one of at least fiveunion stations inKentucky, amongst others located inLexington,Covington,Paducah andOwensboro. It was one of three stations serving Louisville, the others beingCentral Station and Southern Railway Station. It superseded previous, smaller, railroad depots located in Louisville, most notably one located at Tenth and Maple in 1868–1869, and another L&N station built in 1858. The station was formally opened on September 7, 1891, by theLouisville and Nashville Railroad. There was a claim made at the time that it was the largest railroad station in the Southern United States, covering forty acres (16 hectares).[2] The other major station in Louisville wasCentral Station, serving theBaltimore and Ohio, theIllinois Central and other railroads.
Construction of the station began in 1880, but completion was delayed until 1889–91 due to rising costs totaling at $310,656.47. Local contractors constructed all but the clock tower. ArchitectCol Henry C. Wolters is credited with the design and supervision of the original structure.[3] Architect F. W. Mowbray was specifically hired for the project, which was to reflect theRichardsonian Romanesque style of architecture. Its exterior was made oflimestoneashlar, mostly fromBowling Green, Kentucky, although that fromBedford, Indiana was used for its trim. The roof was made of aslate covering protecting iron and heavy wood. Architectural features include a clock tower, smaller towers, turrets, a facade of considerable size, and barreled vaulting.[4] This station wasa street-running station.
The interior was no less impressive. Theatrium, dining, and ladies' retiring rooms on the first floor were quite spacious. Awrought ironbalcony overlooked the atrium. Soft lighting of the facility came from rose-colored windows on both sides of the atrium. The walls were made ofmarble fromGeorgia, as well asoak and southern pine. Ceramic tiles covered the floor.[5]
Union Station provided the entrance to Louisville for many visitors, with its height being the 1920s, when it served 58 trains a day. As a Union Station, it served not only the L&N railroad, but also theMonon Railroad, thePennsylvania Railroad and theLouisville, Henderson, & St. Louis, the latter eventually merging with the L&N. Many of those traveling to theKentucky Derby would use the Union Station as their first place of celebration, with twenty special trains coming to the facility, andPullman cars allowing overnight accommodations, a trend that continued until the mid-1960s.
Three separate United States presidents arrived in Louisville by Union Station. The lobby was once graced by a performance bySarah Bernhardt.[5]
On July 17, 1905, a fire occurred in the facility. The structure was unusable until it reopened the following December. A temporary structure was used in its place during the restoration. The rose-colored windows were replaced due to the fire with an 84-paneledstained glass skylight that became a feature of the barrel-vaulting tower. TheOhio River flood of 1937 also saw the structure close for twelve days.[5]
Amtrak used the facility regularly from May 1971 until October 1976, when it began running theFloridian in conjunction with theAuto-Train from a suburban station nearLouisville International Airport.[5] This arrangement would last until the discontinuation of theFloridian. From December 4, 2001, to July 4, 2003, a track on the west side of the parking lot served Amtrak'sKentucky Cardinal, which ran toChicago viaIndianapolis.[6] However, this effort to return intercity rail to Louisville failed. This was primarily because the Indianapolis-Louisville leg ran alongjointed rail that limited its speed to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), slower than automobile traffic alongInterstate 65.
L&N would eventually sell Union Station to TARC, which spent two million dollars from 1979 to 1980 to restore it. Since then it has served as administration offices for TARC.[5]
In October 2010, TARC announced plans to use a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to restore all 278 windows at the 120-year-old Union Station, including 40 made ofstained glass. Union Station will also get a new geothermal-energy system. Combined with the window restoration, TARC estimates its energy savings will be $58,000 per year.[7]
Until the 1950s and 1960s the station served several prominent trains.
Connecting PRR trains toIndianapolis forSt. Louis, Missouri – New York City trains:
Connecting PRR train toFort Wayne for:
ProQuest 1081995288.
