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

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. From 1971 to 1996 it was an

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

station. Until 1971, it was a railroad stop for the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads. Union Station was served by Amtrak's Los Angeles–New Orleans '' Sunset Limited'' and Los Angeles–Chicago '' Texas Eagle''. The station is on the

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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

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 construction, constructi ...

, along with Brophy College Preparatory, 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. 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'') have also occasionally used Union Station. In 2000, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Rail Passenger Association presented "Transpo 2000," an exposition of a modern Talgo 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. The facility was used until 2020 for a data center for Sprint, which was a Southern Pacific subsidiary. The building was sold in 2020 and the new owners propose it to be a food hall or other event space, as a centerpiece of a larger project.

operates the '' Sunset Limited'' three times a week from the town of Maricopa, which is in Pinal County south of downtown Phoenix. A private company, White's Taxi Shuttle, operates a taxi service to the Phoenix metro area; there is Amtrak Thruway service to and from Maricopa with stops in Tempe and Phoenix (including Sky Harbor airport). The ''Sunset Limited'' also directly serves Tucson, and many Phoenix passengers travel to Tucson as an alternative to boarding the train in Maricopa ( Greyhound 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'' train route operates through Flagstaff daily, and Amtrak provides guaranteed through-ticketed Amtrak Thruway connecting shuttle service vi
Airport Shuttle of Phoenix
o
Arizona Shuttle
from Metrocenter Mall (in north central Phoenix) and the town of Camp Verde (in Yavapai County) to and from the trains at Flagstaff. The nearest Valley Metro Rail station, the Downtown Phoenix Hub, is half a mile away. , passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson is in the planning phase. Future extensions of the route could reach to

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. By 2035, Amtrak has proposed to have rail service connecting 16 stations in Arizona. In June 2023, Amtrak submitted a grant application requesting $716 million for various long distance proposals. Among them is to bring Sunset Limited service back to Phoenix.

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 ( ) 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 over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

Phoenix Former Amtrak stations in Arizona Former Southern 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 in the United States closed in 1996 1923 establishments in Arizona 1996 disestablishments in Arizona Mission Revival architecture in Arizona Rail transportation in Phoenix, Arizona