One of the “must see” places in Kansas City is the historic Union Station. Once the center of activity as trains from all directions passed through Kansas City, Union Station. Union Station was built in 1914 and extensively renovated in 1996.
“During WWII, an estimated one million travelers – many of them soldiers — passed through the Station. The North Waiting Room held 10,000 people and the complex included restaurants, a cigar store, barber shop, railroad offices, the nation’s largest Railway Express Building (used for shipping freight and mail) as well as a powerhouse providing steam and power.” (UnionStation.org)
In the old North Waiting Room, it is not hard to imagine Soldiers boarding the trains and saying good bye to loved ones during World War I and World War II. It is also not hard to imagine those same loved ones relieved to welcome their Soldier home. But this was also the place where loved ones would leave for college, or for a vacation. This is a place where romance and adventure began.
The station now hosts museum tours and the Science Center. Kansas City has done a wonderful job building and maintaining the enormous building. Inside the front hall there is a restaurant aptly named “Harvey’s”. The Harvey name belongs in Union Station, reminiscent of the old Harvey House Restaurants that were once commonplace in the large train stations headed west.
The Kansas City Union Station is an amazing place to visit. Being able to walk through those halls and explore was a great opportunity to have. I am happy that Kansas City and other donors took the time to preserve this great building and monument to our nation’s past.