The Union Station, at 801

South 10th Street South 10th Street is a two-way street that runs south-north from Downtown into South Omaha, Nebraska. Beginning at Dodge Street, South 10th Street passes Gene Leahy Mall and borders the ConAgra Campus and the Old Market. Its southern reaches are w ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architecture in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...

".(nd
"Union Station".
City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/8/07. Designated an

Omaha Landmark This article covers Omaha Landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Nation ...

in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2016.. The Union Station is also a contributing property to the

Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District The Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, roughly bounded by Jackson, 15th, and 8th Streets, as well as the Union Pacific main line, is located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Today this historic district includes several buildings listed i ...

. It was the Union Pacific's first

railroad station,Durham Western Heritage Museum. (nd
Museum Exterior Architecture.
Retrieved 7/14/07. and the completion of the terminal "firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest".

History

The second depot was designed by

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

architect Charles Sumner Frost, and construction began in October, 1898. Completed on December 1, 1899 at a cost of $405,782, the building's façade rose above the Tenth Street Viaduct the building faced. It was primarily built from pressed brick made in Omaha, as well as Bedford stone used in the architectural details. A canopy of glass and iron protected passengers from the elements as they entered the station.

Current structure

Gilbert Stanley Underwood Gilbert Stanley Underwood (1890–1960) was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After opening an office in Los Angeles that ...

of Los Angeles, the current building features a steel frame structure that is clad with cream-colored glazed

terra cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta ...

. Groundbreaking occurred on July 29, 1929, and the building was completed on January 15, 1931. The cost $3.5 million to build. Of the building's design, Underwood was said to have remarked, "We have tried to express the distinctive character of the railroad: strength, power, masculinity."Potter, J. G. (1996) ''Great American Railroad Stations.'' John Wiley and Sons. p. 377. At its dedication, Carl R. Gray, president of the Union Pacific, declared the station to be, "Dedicated by the railways of Omaha to serve, comfort and convenience of the people." The construction of the station was preceded by the construction of the Burlington Train Station one block away. Within ten years that station was served by seven railroads. Upon its completion, the Union Station became renowned for its technological innovations, including electric luggage conveyor belts, escalators and extensive lighting throughout the building. Simultaneously, patrons and critics alike appreciated the traditional and lavish attributes of the building, including massive women's restrooms, beautiful marble columns and flooring throughout, and deep oak woodwork surrounding every window and door in the station.(1939) ''Railroad Age.'' Simmons-Boardman. p. 134. During its first year, 1.5 million passengers passed through. Omaha Union Station in May 1980 - 3 Photos (28794718292)

Omaha Union Station in May 1980 - 3 Photos (28794718292)

By 1946, 64 steam locomotives were in operation bringing 10,000 passengers daily in and out of the Union Station.Cook, H. (1997) "Renovation keeps museum on track," ''Building Design and Construction''. April. However, within a decade everything changed. In 1956 the Chicago and North Western Railroad stopped its line running through Omaha. 1960 saw the exit of

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

. In 1965 the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

and the Chicago Great Western Railway quit running, followed by the Rock Island Railroad in 1969. Passenger service ceased in 1971, and the Union Station was donated to the City of Omaha by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

in 1973. That year the station quickly became the home of the

Durham Museum The Durham Museum (formerly known as the Durham Western Heritage Museum) is located at 801 South 10th Street in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. The museum is dedicated to preserving and displaying the history of the United States' western region. The m ...

. The Union Pacific Museum and Archives were also located there. In 1997 the Union Station underwent a renovation that included a addition and new climate controls for the museum, and today the building is a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, bordering the Old Market Historic District and Omaha's Little Italy.

Bibliography

* (1973) ''Historical Architecture of Omaha'' by Henry W. Wong. * (2001) ''Union Pacific and Omaha Union Station'' by Carla Johnson. * (1999) ''Omaha railroad Stations'' by John Peterson.

References

External links

Historic postcard
*

{{Authority control History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska Former railway stations in Omaha, Nebraska Railway stations in the United States opened in 1931

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Art Deco architecture in Nebraska Art Deco railway stations Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Gilbert Stanley Underwood buildings

Railway stations closed in 1971 1931 establishments in Nebraska

History

Current structure

See also

Bibliography

References

External links