October 3, 2008
Union Station Celebrates its Centennial This Weekend
Photo by out_on_an_island
In case you hadn't heard, Union Station is celebrating 100 years this week, along with the 20th anniversary of its restoration in 1988. The AP trotted out a boilerplate history of the station to mark the occasion, and Amtrak is throwing what sounds like will be a nifty party this weekend. All the details about the event can be found here, but rail nerds should know that they'll be displaying a bunch of historic locomotives and coaches, and regular passengers should consider stopping by to enter to win free train tickets. The Centennial Celebration goes on Saturday, October 4 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday, October 5, from noon to 4 p.m.
And of course, we're sure many of you photogs will want to be there just to see if any security guards give you any guff.
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oh god, you know the security guards will, too. common sense is not a prerequisite to working there...
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You know, I was just wondering the other day how old the bathrooms in Union Station were. Thanks for answering my question!
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I wish Amtrak would do the same kind of major rennovation to Union Station here in Chicago. It isn't quite as large, but it has the same potential for grandeur.
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Had friends do an engagement photo shoot there. No problems whatsoever. Inconsistancy!
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Anybody here remember the Union Station Visitor Center circa 1976, aka "the pit?" Right where the center cafe is used to be thisn big honking sunken hole with multiple projection screens, half of which were always out. That was when the ceiling was leaking and dropping decaying marble on people's heads and the whole place had all the cool charm of the city morgue. You think waiting around for Acela sucks now. Back in the day, you were lucky to get out the front doors without getting raped.
Now, GET OFF MY LAWN!
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Those conditions of the "Union Station Visitor Center circa 1976" you mention ...was the reason my grandmother would take the greyhound down from new york.
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Good lord the days of the visitor center (1976ish) were grim. I was just a kid but remember a LOT of pigeons in there and some sort of pit like people talked about above. Trains came into a little cinderblock building a block behind the actual station. Totally depressing, at best.
I was STUNNED when the renovation was competed in 1988.