Historic building in Houston, Texas, U.S.
United States historic place
Union Station
is a building in
Houston
,
Texas
, in the United States. Dedicated on March 2, 1911, and formerly a hub of rail transportation, the building now serves as a cornerstone for
Minute Maid Park
.
[2]
It is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
, and has since been superseded by
Houston's Amtrak station
.
History
[
edit
]
Construction and rail use
[
edit
]
In 1909 the Houston Belt and Terminal Railway Company commissioned the design of a new
union station
for Houston from
New York City
-based architects
Warren and Wetmore
. The location called for the demolition of several structures of Houston prominence.
Horace Baldwin Rice's
residence and
Adath 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 of
granite
,
limestone
, and
terracotta
, while the interior used an extensive amount of
marble
. It was completed and opened on March 1, 1911. At the time, Houston, with seventeen railways, was considered the main railroad hub of the
Southern United States
.
[5]
This is also evident by the
Seal of Houston
, which prominently features a locomotive. Two more floors were added the following year.
[6]
Railroads and destinations
[
edit
]
The station served as the main inter-city passenger terminal for Houston for over seven decades thereafter.
Major railroad lines served:
[7]
The
Southern Pacific Railroad
maintained its own station approximately one mile from Union Station. The
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad
also maintained its own station about 0.8 miles from Union Station.
Section of a map of Houston from 1913, showing the location of the station and yards, the eventual ballpark site. (Select the image to view the full map.)
Decline
[
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]
Passenger rail declined greatly after
World War II
. When
Amtrak
took over most intercity rail service in 1971, Union Station was one of two stations used by the new company, the other being the
new Southern Pacific station
built in 1959 that served the
Sunset 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, the
Lone Star
(successor of the
Texas 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 the
National Register of Historic Places
.
Use in the 21st century
[
edit
]
In 2005
Southern Pacific
2-10-2
982 was moved from
Hermann 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]
Ballpark era
[
edit
]
Plans for a new Houston
ballpark
to replace the
Astrodome
began in 1995, and originally called for a site to be used at the
Astrodomain
. In August 1996, Houston's Union Station received a US$2 million grant from the
Texas Transportation Commission
for renovation in a separate project.
[11]
Plans for the new ballpark's location drastically changed by September mostly in response to
Enron
Chairman
Kenneth 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 of
Enron Field
, now named Minute Maid Park, was completed thereafter with Union Station preserved and renovated as the ballpark's main lobby. It opened on April 7, 2000.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"National Register Information System"
.
National Register of Historic Places
.
National Park Service
. July 9, 2010.
- ^
Before baseball, Union Station a monument to classic architecture
- ^
Houston: A History and Guide
. The Anson Jones Press. 1942. p.
260
. Retrieved
December 18,
2013
.
- ^
"Grand Station of Terminal Co". Magnolia Park News. September 19, 1909. p. 1.
- ^
Farbar, Jerome Hammond (1913).
Houston: Where Seventeen Railroads Meet the Sea
. H. H. Tammen Company
. Retrieved
December 18,
2013
.
- ^
Marsh, Tom (1999).
"Houston Union Station: The Great Hall Revealed"
. Gulf Coast Chapter NRHS. Archived from
the original
on December 19, 2013
. Retrieved
December 18,
2013
.
- ^
Official Guide of the Railways,
June, 1961
- ^
JCI Houston - Southern Pacific 982
- ^
"Southern Pacific 982 Steam Engine gifted to the Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage"
.
Chron
. June 6, 2013.
- ^
Olabi, Nora (March 16, 2015).
"
'Time to hit the pause button' on downtown Houston museum, mayor says"
.
Houston Business Journal
. Retrieved
November 20,
2022
.
- ^
Feldstein, Dan (August 29, 1996). "Renovation plans to get Union Station back on tracks".
Houston Chronicle
. p. 36.
- ^
Williams, John (September 13, 1996). "Astros near decision to stay - if downtown".
Houston Chronicle
. p. 1.
External links
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