Text and Photos by Author
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Union Station Great Hall
Skylight.
When built, the skylight was the highlight of the Great
Hall. But its cast iron design had many flaws that had caused it
to deteriorate over the years. To add insult to injury, the
skylight was tarred over during World War II. The tar wasn't
removed until sometime in the 1970s. Part of the ongoing
restoration of the station included restoring the ceiling and
skylight. During a 2016 inspection, it was determined that just
restoring the skylight would not solve the original problems.
However, because it was such an integral part of the building it
was decided to restore it anyway. Then, to protect it, a new
skylight was to be built five feet over the original.
Restoration began in 2018 and took 42 months to complete.
The stairway to Canal Street
Station entrance at 222 S,
Riverside Building.
The building sits where the Union Station concourse was
originally located. The concourse was torn down in 1969 to make
way for the building which opened in 1971.
Exterior view of Union Station
Chicago Board of Trade building
The south end of Riverside Plaza as
seen from Jackson Blvd. The walk extends from Monroe St. to
Jackson Blvd as a result of the City of Chicago changing its
building codes to require open space for public access along
the west side of the river as new buildings were being built.
It provides access to Union Station from Monroe, Adams and
Jackson Blvd and shopping along the plaza.
The Jackson Blvd with a Shoreline
Water Taxi and Sightseeing boat on a Chicago River tour.
Amtrak P42DC 68 built by GE in March, 1997. with an Amtrak Midwest Venture coach
Amtrak P42DC 29 built by GE in November, 1996
Amtrak Midwest Charger built by Siemens
Amtrak Superliner II sleeping car 32083 built by Bombardier in 1994.
Metra coach yard and servicing facility. Originally built for the Chicago Burlington and Quincy to service their passenger and commuter trains. In addition to Burlington trains, equipment of Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter along with the Great Northern's Empire Builder and Western Star were serviced here. It was/is commonly referred to as the Zephyr Pit.
Metra bi-level commuter cab car 814. Built by Budd in 1973 for the Burlington. Northern then sold to the West Suburban Mass Transit District and leased back to BN after being refurbished by Budd.
Gateway Arch. The Gateway Arch aka The Gateway to the West, is a National Park within the Jefferson National expansion Memorial that had its origins to improve the St. Louis riverfront during the 1930s. The arch was designed by Finnish architect Eero Saarinen in 1947. Construction began in February, 1963 and was completed in November, 1965. It opened to the public in June, 1967. It is located on the site of the earliest buildings of the city.
Municipal/Mac Arthur Bridge. The bridge built by the City of St. Louis to counter the monopoly of the Terminal Railroad Association of St; Louis which owned all the other bridges across the Mississippi river. It opened to automobile traffic in 1917 and railroad traffic in 1928. The original name of the bridge was The St. Louis Municipal Bridge aka the Free Bridge since there were originally no tolls until 1932. In 1942 the bridge was renamed for General Douglas Mac Arthur. In 1981, the auto portion of the bridge was closed and the deck removed. In 1989, the TRRA gained control of the bridge in a swap with the city for Eads Bridge.
Busch Stadium. Home of the St. Louis Cardinals. This is the third version of Busch Stadium. The first version was originally known as Sportsman's Park. It was home to both the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Browns. The Browns moved to Baltimore in 1953 becoming the Baltimore Orioles. The stadium was renamed Busch Stadium after extensive renovations by new Cardinals owner August Busch, also the owner of Budweiser. Sportsman's Park/Busch Stadium was replaced by the new Busch Memorial Stadium in May, 1966. The final event for Busch stadium was in October, 2005. Demolition began in November and was completed in December. The current Busch Stadium (Busch Stadium III or New Busch Stadium) was built next door to Busch Memorial Stadium with the out field occupying part of the foot print of the previous Busch Stadium. The current ballpark opened in April, 2006. The seating area was completed in May, 2006 and finishing touches were worked on during the rest of the year.
The building was built as a J. C. Penney warehouse in 1929. They vacated it in 1954 and donated the building to the University of Missouri, When the projected use as an education center never materialized, the university leased it to the Edison Brothers Stores who used it as a warehouse until 1994. After a $54 million renovation, the building reopened in 2001 as a combination of condos and a hotel/ It is now known as the Edison condominiums. The artwork was commissioned in 1983 that mimicked architectural stonework using themes from the 1904 St. Louis World's
St Louis Gateway Transportation Center. This is the third St. Louis station. The original Union Station was opened in 1894 for passenger trains. By the 1960s, that station started falling into disrepair following the decline in passenger train usage. The last Amtrak train left in May, 1978 and the station was closed. During the 1980s, Union station was renovated into a hotel, shopping mall and food court. Amtrak moved to a temporary facility two blocks east of Union Station. The facility was derisively dubbed an Amshack. That temporary facility lasted until 2008 when the current Gateway Transportation Center opened. Gateway Transportation Center is served by Amtrak and Amtrak Thruway buses, Greyhound and Burlington Trailways inter-city buses and Metrolink light rail.
Thanks
for reading.
Text and Photos by Author, Robin Bowers
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent
