Phoenix Union Station is a former train station at 401 South 4th Avenue in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Phoenix,

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. From 1971 to 1996 it was an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

station. Until 1971, it was a railroad stop for the Santa Fe and

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials- SP) was an American Class I railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was operated by various companies under the ...

s. Union Station was served by Amtrak's Los Angeles–New Orleans ''

Sunset Limited The ''Sunset Limited'' is an Amtrak passenger train that for most of its history has operated between New Orleans and Los Angeles, over the nation's second transcontinental route. However, up until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, it operated betw ...

'' and Los Angeles–Chicago ''

Texas Eagle The ''Texas Eagle'' is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak between Chicago and San Antonio in the central and western United States. Prior to 1988, the train was known as the ''Eagle''. Trains #21 (southbound) and 22 (northbound) ...

''. The station is 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 ...

Architecture

Phoenix Union Station was constructed in 1923 by the Santa Fe and the Arizona Eastern ( Southern Pacific) Railroads. The Station is one of the best examples of

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

, along with

Brophy College Preparatory Brophy College Preparatory is a Jesuit high school in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. The school has an all-male enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. It is operated independently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix. The school has ...

, in Phoenix. The Mission Revival style, a popular building style between 1890 and the 1920s, was typified by such Union Station features as stucco wall finishes, arcades, red tiled roofs, curvilinear gables, massive piers, and impost moldings. According to the "Phoenix Historic Building Survey" by the Phoenix City Council, September 1979: ; Historic Name: Union Station of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads ; Description : A large Mission Revival railroad station with a central two-story waiting room structure between long, low arcaded wings. Red-tiled, gabled roofs are terminated by high parapet walls that are shaped with the familiar curves of the Mission Revival at the ends of the wings and in entrance pavilions at both the railroad and street sides of the central pavilion. In keeping with the character of the Mission Revival there are few other decorative details. : The waiting room is a high, beamed space with original wooden furnishings and particularly fine ceiling light fixtures. There have been some alterations in the waiting room, and the arcaded wings which were originally open as passenger waiting areas have been enclosed. A microwave transmitting tower next to the central pavilion is out of harmony with the structure ... ; Significance: : Union Station was a joint venture between the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroad Companies and was designed by their architect,

Peter Kiewit Kiewit Corporation is an American privately held construction company based in Omaha, Nebraska founded in 1884. In 2021, it was ranked 243rd on the Fortune 500. Privately held, it is one of the largest construction and engineering organizations ...

. Dedicated on September 30, 1923, the building was proclaimed a "Monument to the progressiveness and prosperity of the valley and a testimony of the confidence in the future of the Salt River Valley and Phoenix." : A milestone in Phoenix's development, Union Station ushered in tourism on a grand scale and promoted greater national visibility.

History

Rob Bohannan presented this history at ARPA's dedication of the clock and plaque donated by ARPA members, January 11, 1992. Used with permission: In 1995, the last full year Amtrak stopped at Union Station, 21,495 passengers boarded or alighted here. Since Amtrak left in 1996, the Olympic Torch train has stopped here twice, and tourist trains like the ''GrandLuxe'' (formerly ''

American Orient Express American Orient Express, formerly the American European Express, operated a single luxury passenger train set in charter service between 1989 and 2008 and operated on routes throughout North America. The company was based in Seattle, Washington. ...

'') have also occasionally used Union Station. In 2000, the

Arizona Department of Transportation The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT, pronounced "A-Dot") is an Arizona state government agency charged with facilitating mobility within the state. In addition to managing the state's highway system, the agency is also involved with pu ...

and the Arizona Rail Passenger Association presented "Transpo 2000," an exposition of a modern

Talgo Talgo (officially Patentes Talgo, SAU) is a Spanish manufacturer of intercity, standard, and high-speed passenger trains. Corporate history TALGO, an abbreviation of Tren Articulado Ligero Goicoechea Oriol (English: ''Lightweight articulated tr ...

trainset at Union Station.

Historic designations

* National Register of Historic Places #NPS 85003056 * Phoenix City Register

Current services

No regular passenger trains call at Union Station. However, as recently as 2010, there were efforts to bring back passenger rail service to Phoenix.

operates the ''

'' three times a week from the town of Maricopa, which is in

Pinal County Pinal County is in the central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. According to the 2020 census, the population of the county was 425,264, making it Arizona's third-most populous county. The county seat is Florence. The county was founded in 187 ...

south of downtown Phoenix. A private company, White's Taxi Shuttle, operates a taxi service to the Phoenix metro area; there is

Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, trans ...

service to and from Maricopa with stops in Tempe and Phoenix (including Sky Harbor airport). The ''Sunset Limited'' also directly serves

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and many Phoenix passengers travel to Tucson as an alternative to boarding the train in Maricopa (

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurgenc ...

operates frequent daily motorcoach service between Phoenix and Tucson; the Tucson Greyhound depot is about east of the Tucson Amtrak station). Amtrak's ''

Southwest Chief The ''Southwest Chief'' (formerly the ''Southwest Limited'' and ''Super Chief'') is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a route between Chicago and Los Angeles through the Midwest and Southwest via Kansas City, Albuquerque, and Flags ...

'' train route operates through Flagstaff daily, and Amtrak provides guaranteed through-ticketed

Thruway Motorcoach Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, tran ...

connecting shuttle service vi
Airport Shuttle of Phoenix
o
Arizona Shuttle
from Metrocenter Mall (in north central Phoenix) and the town of

Camp Verde Camp Verde ( yuf-x-yav, ʼMatthi:wa; Western Apache: Gambúdih) is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town is 10,873. The town hosts an annual corn festival in July, sponsored and org ...

(in

Yavapai County Yavapai County is near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Prescott, AZ M ...

) to and from the trains at Flagstaff. The nearest

Valley Metro Rail Valley Metro Rail (styled as METRO) is a light rail line serving the cities of Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa in Arizona, USA. The network, which is part of the Valley Metro public transit system, began operations on December 27, 2008. In , the sy ...

station,

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

("Washington Street and Central Avenue and Jefferson Street and 1st Avenue"), is half a mile away. New passenger rail service connecting Phoenix and Tucson to Los Angeles is heavily supported as of 2021 by the

American Jobs Plan The Build Back Better Plan or Build Back Better agenda was a legislative framework proposed by U.S. president Joe Biden between 2020 and 2021. Generally viewed as ambitious in size and scope, and even after it was reduced in size, it became the ...

. By 2035, Amtrak has proposed to have rail service connecting 16 stations in Arizona.

Notes

References

* ''The Union Station: Phoenix' Portal to the Nation''; City of Phoenix Historical Preservation Commission, Don W. Ryden AIA Architects Inc. January 1990 * ''A Historic Building Analysis of Phoenix Union Station''; Ryden Architects, ca. 1984. 725.31028 H629, Phoenix Central Library, Arizona Collection. Includes photographs of the rarely seen second floor offices, former baggage/express areas, and attic spaces. * ''Phoenix Historical Building Survey'', Phoenix City Council, September 1979; 917.9174 C38p, Phoenix Central Library, Arizona Collection. * ''Railroads of Arizona, vol. II—Phoenix and the Central Roads'' by David F. Myrick, Howell-North Books, San Diego, California, 1980. 385.09791 (Library of Congress: HE2771.A6M94; (v.I))

External links

*
Arizona Rail Passenger Association's Photos of Union Station

Flickr Photo

Amtrak Phoenix

Amtrak Phoenix to Tucson Expansion Plans
- official Amtrak Connects US 15-year expansion plans for Arizona {{Maricopa County, Arizona Transportation buildings and structures in Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway stations in Arizona Former Amtrak stations in Arizona Former Southern Pacific Railroad stations Union Pacific Railroad stations History of Phoenix, Arizona Railway stations in the United States opened in 1923 National Register of Historic Places in Phoenix, Arizona Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Arizona Railway stations closed in 1996 1923 establishments in Arizona 1996 disestablishments in Arizona Mission Revival architecture in Arizona Rail transportation in Phoenix, Arizona