Closed in the 1980s, the Station Has Been Restored as a Multi-Purpose Facility

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Kansas City Union Station

Union Station was a catalyst for Kansas City, sparking not only industrial and commercial growth, but introducing Kansas City as a major transportation and service corridor to the nation. Though no longer operating as a passenger rail station, Union Station stands as a testament to Kansas City residents' determination to develop a competitive, productive, and aesthetically appealing urban center.

At its peak the station handled 300 passenger trains daily. The station closed in the 1980s. After a $250 million restoration, it reopened in 1999 as a multi-purpose facility, featuring a museum, planetarium, shops, event venue, and restaurants. Amtrak service brought trains back to the station in 2002. More information can be found at the stations website.

History of Kansas City Union Station

Selecting a Station Site

The site selected for the new station, though not ideal on account of its steep grade and location within an "ugly wasteland" with only a few warehouses nearby, held many advantages. Described as low and broad, the site could accommodate a large number of tracks, a situation ideal for a "through" station." Additionally, the site was not susceptible to floods, was visible from downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and was in close proximity to several of Kansas City's finer residential. communities. A particular benefit was that a portion of the land was already owned by the KCTRY. The amenities of the new location would allow the Railway Company to build "a giant structure symbolic of their wealth and power, flanked by parks and tied to the city's developing boulevard system."

City Council and Citizen Approvals

On September 9^th, 1909, a special election was held to determine whether or not the citizens of Kansas City would approve of the proposed design and beautification efforts planned by the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company. The document the voters had to confirm would grant the Railway Company final approval of the plan passed by the city council on July 9^th, 1909. The public overwhelmingly supported the proposals set forth by city council and the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company, with 708 votes against the proposals being swamped by a tide of 24,522 votes in favor of the new station and its surrounding boulevard and park improvements.

Building the New Union Station

Hunt's original cost estimate for the construction of the building was $3.5 million, substantially higher than the limit previously agreed upon by city council members and the Railway Company. By 1909, after a series of revisions and improvements to the design, the railroad companies enthusiastically supported the project despite its elevated $5.7 million construction figure.

Designed and constructed according to the plans set forth by Jarvis Hunt and approved by the city, the new Union Station Terminal was opened to the public in a grand Opening Day Ceremony held on October 30^th, 1914. The new station was impressive, a bold T-shape design that was the third largest station in the United States at the time of its construction, Innovative design placed the station's elegant waiting room over the tracks, and provided separate spaces for departures and arrivals. In addition to the impressive grand lobby and main waiting room, the station building also housed restaurant and lunchroom facilities, a barber shop, drugstore, and baggage and parcel check areas. Union Station was, at the time of its construction, hailed as a complement to Kansas City's park and boulevard system. The station was officially declared open for traffic at 12:00 midnight on November 1^st, 1914, with the first train arriving a few minutes later.

In an attempt to avoid repeating the undesirable conditions that developed in the area immediately surrounding the old Union Depot, city officials and residents designated the park area directly south of the station as "Station Park" (illustrated in Kessler's 1915 plan), to be purchased and developed as parkland by the city. Eventually, in 1926, this expansive parcel was developed and dedicated as Liberty Memorial Park, with a giant limestone terrace topped by a 217' stone shaft that still towers over Union Station today. Designed by Harold Van Buren Magonigle, Liberty Memorial stands as Kansas City's memorial to World War I veterans.

Station Architect Jarvis Hunt

In addition to the Kansas City Union Station, Hunt designed terminals in Oakland, California, Joliet, Illinois, and Dallas, Texas. Each of these stations is roughly contemporary with that in Kansas City and bears certain similarities of design. Sixteenth Street Station in Oakland, completed in 1912, is a simple and symmetrical rectangular design. The main facade features three recessed windows similar in both scale and detail to Kansas City Union Station. However, Sixteenth Street station is smaller than its Kansas City cousin, and the main entrance to the building is through the center arch.

The recently restored Joliet Union Station (1912) is one of Hunt's most skilled designs. Again, he repeats the triple-arched window motif, but breaks up the heavy facade with a balcony level and additional entrances on a lower level. The station features a main head house with smaller wings to each side, but it is carefully shaped to fit a corner site. Dallas Union Station (1912) displays a similar massing to the building in Kansas City, but the overall style is heavy and more angular. Certainly Kansas City Union Station was one of Hunt's finest designs and a capstone to his career. Jarvis Hunt retired to St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1927, and died there in 1941. He was buried in his hometown of Wethersfield Bow. Hunt's papers have not been located and may not have survived intact.

Two men in Hunt's office deserve particular mention since, from cumulative documentary evidence (i.e., signatures on multiple drawings and/or pieces of correspondence), it is clear that they were central lo the design and construction of Kansas City Union Station. Charles Bohasseck, a key designer in Hunt's office, played an important role in the design of the station. He was later promoted to partnership, and the firm was renamed Hunt and Bohasseck. A.H. Buckley was Superintendent for the Architect and Hunt's full-time, on-site representative during construction of the station from September 1911 to January 1915.

Construction of Kansas City Union Station

Hunt finished a completed set of drawings for the station building in December 1910, but excavation did not begin until August 20^th, 1914. W.S. Kinnear, president of the KCTRY, led the project. John V. Hanna, Chief Engineer for the Terminal Railway, assisted by an engineering department of 180 employees, oversaw construction of the building. The primary contractor for construction of the building was the George A. Fuller Construction Company of New York, which had recently completed construction of the Chicago Northwestern station. The Fuller Company built several landmarks of American architectural history, including the Monadnock Building in Chicago and New York's Flatiron Building. E.S. Belden, the general manager of the Fuller Company for Union Station, had worked with Hunt on bis earlier Commerce Building. Frederick W. Winters served as Fuller's on-site superintendent for the project, while A.H. Buckley carried out similar duties for Hunt. Hunt continued to correspond with KCTRY over such matters as the selection of finish materials for the building and the layout of offices and public facilities throughout the construction of the building.

The railway company had grand ambitions for the new station. W.E. Kleinpell remarked to Hanna, "There is something about [the appearance of the building] that puts one in the mind of some grand old Roman work." Railway president H.H. Adams set a tablet with the names of the builders and boosters of the station into its walls in 1912 (the location is unknown), and proclaimed:

Hunt and the railways continued to change the design of the new building as it was being constructed. Railway officials traveled to New York and other East Coast railroad stations, observing everything from the flow of passenger traffic to the attractiveness of the furnishings. Hunt designed many of the furnishings and fittings used in Union Station, including the elegant ticket office in the grand lobby, the sturdy waiting room benches, and light fixtures throughout the station. Many of the other fittings, especially the furnishings in the facilities operated by the Fred Harvey Company, were designed and produced by the Chicago firm of Taussig & Flesch. Much of the interior decorating was performed by the William F. Bebtens Company. The elevators were built by the Otis Elevator Company from designs by Hunt and Martin Schwab of Chicago, the mechanical engineer for the project.

By July 1914, the nearly completed Union Station received a favorable review from the Architectural Record, which commended Hunt's design as one of the most interesting station buildings in the West. On October 30^th, 1914, the station opened to the public. Newspaper illustrations documented local pride in the monumental new station. The Kansas City Star observed the thrill of the crowd as more than 8,000 people watched the parade and listened to the gun fire that marked the opening of the grand new station. Boy Scouts marched, women fainted, and Jarvis Hunt observed:

Kansas City Union Station Operation and Function

Passengers with time on their hands had more than one place to wait for their trains. The North Waiting Room was lined with simple wooden benches, and the area under the large clock, at the central bay of the Grand Hall's north wall, was a popular meeting point for Kansas City inhabitants for many years. Men had the option of retiring to the Men's Smoking Room in the north part of the west wing, or getting a haircut at the adjacent Barber Shop. The lavishly fitted men's toilets could be entered through the Men's Smoking Room. Women could use the Women's Waiting Room, Women's Retiring Room, and the more modest women's toilets in the east wing. First-floor mezzanine-level women's private bathing facilities could be entered from the Women's Waiting Room, and a stairway led to the basement mezzanine-level Women's and Children's Waiting Area. Waiting passengers were segregated by class as well as by gender. The Immigrants' Waiting Room, also called the Second-Class Waiting Room, adjoined the Basket Lunch Room at the north end of the North Waiting Room. An isolation room for passengers with contagious diseases was provided to the west of the Immigrants' Waiting Room, with separate toilet facilities located to the east of the waiting room.

The design of Union Station provided plenty of shopping and dining opportunities for travelers and locals alike. These facilities were run by the Fred Harvey Company. As passengers passed from the Grand Hall to the North Waiting Room, they were tempted by the offerings of the Frit and Candy store to their left, or the News and Books store to their right. Both shops could be entered from the Grand Hall, the Midways, or the North Waiting Room. The Drug Store opened onto the Grand Hall and Midway at the east side of the lobby. Passengers could purchase sodas at the fountain counter, prescriptions could be filled at an adjacent counter, and all manner of sundries could be purchased elsewhere in the store. The Cigar Store was logically located adjacent to the Men's Smoking Room.

The most popular Harvey amenities were the food service facilities in the east wing. A stylish Lunch Counter with a large marble counter and balcony seating was entered directly from the Grand Hall. Customers who wished to linger over their meals might choose a table in the more formal restaurant dining room, which was located to the south of the lunch counter. A private dining room was provided at the first floor mezzanine. All restaurant areas were served by the Harvey kitchens in the east end of the first floor.

The upper floors of the station building provided office and storage space for the Harvey Company and the Kansas City Terminal Railway Companies. In the east wing, the first-floor mezzanine level housed the Lunch Counter balcony seating, a private dining room, locker rooms for male and female employees, a staff kitchen and dining room, and offices for a Harvey manager and other staff. The Harvey Company's offices occupied most of the second floor of the east wing. Mr. Harvey's private office in the southeast corner was especially well-appointed, with wood paneling and the only fireplace in the building. The third floor of the east wing contained a mixture of office space, storage, and utilities. Partition walls were erected to suit the needs of the tenants, who included Harvey, the Pullman Company, and other clerical staff. Fan rooms were located in the northeast and southeast corners of the wing. To the west of the Harvey area, above the retail booths in the Grand Hail, a partial first-floor mezzanine provided storage and support space for each store. The actual pharmacist for the Drug Store was located in the mezzanine above the entrance to the Women's Waiting Room. Also on the first-floor mezzanine level, the Ticket Auditor's Office overlooked the Ticket Booth.

The layout in the west wing echoed the arrangement of offices in the east wing. The mezzanine level housed baggage and parcel operations offices and an emergency hospital. The second floor offices, which were occupied by Kansas City Terminal Railway auditors, engineers, and other staff, flanked a double-loaded corridor in the west wing, in contrast to the more open departmental space in the east wing. As in the east wing, a light court was inserted in the central portion of the wing. The Railway President's office was located in the southwest corner of the building. The third floor of the west wing was lined with storage vaults along the exterior walls of the building. Telephone and telegraph offices were located in the interior offices around the light court. The fifth and sixth floors of the station building contained very little floor space and were used primarily for storage.

The lower levels of Union Station provided space for crucial operating functions such as baggage and mail handling. The basement mezzanine, the first level below grade at the south elevation, ran along the north side of the Headhouse and west wing, covering about one-third of the floor. This urea of the basement mezzanine housed lounge and locker space for trainmen, conductors and other railroad employees. A small mezzanine at the south side of the Headhouse, under the Ticket Office, was used as a stock room for the Ticket Office. In the east wing, under the Harvey restaurants and kitchen, space was provided for food and wine storage and a bakery. The basement mezzanine provided connection to the upper floor of the Commissary Wing, also used for Harvey Company materials storage. The Women and Children's Waiting Room and Basket Lunch Room were directly under the Women's Waiting Room.

The basement, at the same level as the train tracks, was a logical location for baggage handling facilities. The basement level of the Commissary also opened onto the platforms and tracks, and was occupied by the Harvey Company as storerooms for food, retail goods, and bulk goods. The sub-basement of the Headhouse and wings was a wide-open space that afforded the nearby U.S. Post Office space for mail-handling operations and equipment.

Separate Railway and Adams Express buildings, which extended to the west of the station, were also part of Hunt's original design. An important and highly functional part of the station plan, these structures met the needs of their freight company tenants, who required ready access to track level.

The Fred Harvey Company - Harvey House - and Union Station

Each restaurant was fitted with the finest furnishings available. Fresh food was shipped by train to each destination. Harvey worked hand-in-hand with the railroad companies, particularly bis first sponsor, the Santa Fe Railroad. Harvey's reputation for excellent service, fine food, and reasonable prices spread quickly. Although not every restaurant turned a profit, the system drew business to the railroads. Harvey devised an elaborate system to ensure that travelers' meals were served promptly upon the arrival of the train in the station. Passengers placed their meal orders while aboard the train. Orders then were wired to the Harvey kitchen, where the food was prepared in time to meet the train. Engineers signaled as the train approached the station, and the food was placed on the table in the station restaurant. Harvey also established a standardized menu and level of service throughout the country, setting precedent for the later franchise restaurants that came to dominate the American restaurant industry. Fred Harvey died in 1901, but the business was continued by his sons, Ford and Byron Harvey.

"Harvey Girls," as waitresses in the Harvey establishments were called, played an important role in setting the tone of the restaurants. Harvey recruited young women from East Coast and Midwestern cities, and gave them jobs in Western stations. He regulated every detail of their appearance, emphasized the importance of cheerful manners, and required them to sleep in a supervised Harvey dormitory. The neatly dressed Harvey Girl quickly became a mythic figure of purity, memorialized in the lyrics to "The Harvey Girl," a song from the 1946 Judy Garland movie, "The Harvey Girls."

Harvey's recruiting had one permanent impact on local populations. Berkman estimates that as many as 5,000 Harvey Girls married western railroad employees and farmers.

With the success of the restaurants, Harvey expanded his business to include a wide range of services, from retail offerings to luxury accommodations. The opening of Harvey facilities in the Kansas City Union Station introduced the company's first drugstore. In 1921, Fred Harvey's son explained his decision:

Harvey's services changed with developments in the railroads. By the 1930s, faster train service had eliminated the need for meals to be served at station stops, and the bulk of Harvey's business moved to dining cars and other on-board services. The rapid decline of passenger rail traffic in the post-World War II period hurt Harvey's business considerably, and in 1968, the company was sold to Amfac., Inc., of Hawaii. Amtrak bought the Santa Fe passenger service in 1973.

American Railroad Architecture

The expansion of the railroad had an enormous impact on industry and trade, speeding the rise of the United States as a world economic power. Suddenly, Midwestern grains and goods could be shipped to Europe quickly and cheaply enough to compete with European products. Unlike canals and roads, railroads provided a reliable and economic means of transportation all year long. The speed of business transactions increased, as merchants avoided delays caused by bad weather" The railroad industry itself also stimulated the economy. By 1870, railroad equipment accounted for 20 percent of all machinery produced in the United States, and its construction consumed some 40 percent of all domestic rolled steel. Once built, the railroads had to be managed and maintained. In The American Train Depot and Roundhouse, Hans and April Halberstadt estimate that the railroads were once the largest employer in the country.

Other lifestyle changes were brought about by the railroads. For the first time, city dwellers enjoyed abundant vegetables and farm produce at reasonable prices. Mid-westerners could eat seafood shipped from the coast, as evidenced by the numerous barrels used for the shipping of oysters that remain in the Union Station building. In 1883, the railroads standardized American timekeeping, dividing the continental United States into the four time zones still in use today.

The railroad station as an architectural building type originated in Europe, where transportation infrastructure developed earlier and faster than in the United States. The railroad station placed new demands on architects and engineers, who responded with an entirely new form of architecture. The station buildings, regarded as the gateway to the city, were grand in scale and elaborately finished. In 1875, Building News observed, "Railway termini are to the nineteenth century what monasteries and cathedrals were to the thirteenth century. They are truly the only real representative building we possess … Our metropolitan termini have been leaders of the art and spirit of our time." Besides monumental design, an impressive feature of many of these buildings were the magnificent train sheds. The development of cast iron for use as a building material in the early nineteenth century allowed engineers to span record-breaking widths. With this new material, railway engineers competed to build the largest possible sheds, developing elaborate truss systems to bridge ever wider areas. When London's Liverpool Street Station was completed in 1850, its 153 by 374' train shed was the largest single span in the world. Although the scale of the train sheds was carried to the station buildings, the new materials and styles developed by engineers did not find widespread approval among architects. Exposed iron enjoyed a brief period of popularity in the 1870s, but quickly fell out of favor. In England, station buildings were more likely to resemble Greek temples or Italian villas than anything suggestive of new technology. The French were more willing to address the problem of the railroad station specifically, and buildings such as the Gare de L'Est in Paris sought to express the flow of traffic through the station.

Early American railroad buildings were less grand than their European counterparts. American railroad companies had to contend with much higher capital costs than the Europeans. American cities were farther apart, and little infrastructure existed between urban areas. Many small stations were built as speculative ventures, then replaced with larger buildings as towns grew up around the railroad. These buildings were typically modest wood barn-like structures, frequently built to a standard pattern, and generally no larger than a railroad car. The stations were constructed in a central location, then transported by rail to remote sites. As cities grew, and transportation and travel demands increased, railroad buildings became more substantial.

In larger cities, multiple railroad companies often joined together to provide a single "Union" Station. Competing railroad companies benefited when local rail lines came together, and the consolidation of funds meant that there was even more money available for the construction of the central station. "Union" stations were typically a showcase for both the railroad and the town, and were constructed in a wide variety of styles: Italianate, Queen Anne, Craftsman and Richardsonian Romanesque. The first American station to approach the size and grandeur of the early European stations was Grand Central Station in New York, built in 1869. Other railroad companies quickly followed the example of Grand Central, and monumental stations began springing up in every major American city.

Kansas City Union Station was built during the late Victorian period, which Carroll Meeks labels the age of "megalomania." He notes, "the increase in the scale of building echoed the tendency of the era to increase the absolute size of everything from empires to transatlantic liners." Influenced by the Great White City at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893, architects began designing enormous Beaux-Arts public buildings, including libraries, museums, and railroad. stations. Union Station in Washington, D.C., as well as Pennsylvania Station and the second Grand Central Station in New York, were all built during this period. Penn Station was lost to the wreckers' ball in 1963. Grand Central and Washington Union Station have been rehabilitated.

Kansas City and the Railroad

Early History

Developing an Industrial City

Occurring simultaneously, and as a result of Kansas City's burgeoning industrial center, was a rapid growth in population. Just fifteen years prior to the construction of Union Depot, Kansas City claimed a mere 3,000 residents. By 1870, this figure increased dramatically to over 25,000, and by 1880 more than doubled to approximately 55,000 residents. Such drastic increases overwhelmed the Union Depot and its immediate neighborhood. According to William H. Wilson, author of The City Beautiful Movement, "the station itself became less and less serviceable as passenger and freight traffic mounted decade after decade." The demise of Union Depot can be, in part, attributed to the ever-increasing population of Kansas City. Constructed to manage passenger and freight traffic for the twin Kansas Cities, which had an estimated population of 59,000, the station and its community were now forced to face the demands of a population that had more than tripled by 1890 to exceed 171,000. To keep this turn of events in perspective, the growth of the city did not, by any means, subside. By 1900, figures rose well above 200,000 and, by 1910, had escalated to 330,712, a 550 percent increase in just 30 years.

Incorporating the City Beautiful Movement

Between 1893 and 1915, George Kessler designed a series of plans for Kansas City in order to accommodate and guide the continuing development and expansion of the city. By the time the majority of these plans were completed, Kansas City had taken shape as a city greatly influenced by the landscape ideals of the City Beautiful movement, which had yet to be fully realized throughout the nation. Kessler's great success in Kansas City expanded his career opportunities, and shortly after completing his park and boulevard system, he was hired to be the Superintendent of Parks for what was, at the time, "a little railroad - the Kansas City, Fort Scott and Gulf." The task assigned to Kessler was to take charge of and oversee the beautification of all stations owned and operated by the railroad in Kansas City.

Population Growth and Civic Improvements: The Emerging Railroad

Miscellaneous articles appearing in the Kansas City Star indicate that complaints surrounding the Union Depot station included passenger objection to being exposed to the elements and excessive engine smoke on the platforms, malfunctioning toilet rooms, severe overcrowding, and a limited use of tracks. One of the station's greatest impediments was its low-lying West Bottoms location. Bounded on two sides by riverbank, the station was quite susceptible to flooding. Recognizing the limitations of the station and its site, the Union Depot Company attempted to improve conditions by remodeling the station's interior. Acknowledging that this effort offered only temporary relief to passengers, the Company, in 1901, resolved to search for an adequate site. Though redevelopment of a new station at the West Bottoms site was considered, the Great Flood of 1903, which virtually destroyed the area, forced the Company to search for an alternative location.