Union Station (Dallas) - History

History

Constructed in 1916 as Dallas Union Terminal, the structure now known as Union Station was built to consolidate five rail stations scattered around Dallas into one, making Dallas a major transportation center in the Southwestern United States. At the peak of its usage, as many as 80 trains stopped each day at the station. It was designed by Jarvis Hunt, who designed other large train stations. Railroads served by the station included Texas & Pacific Railway, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, St. Louis Southwestern Railway(Cotton Belt), Fort Worth & Denver Railway, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, Burlington-Rock Island Railroad, St. Louis and San Francisco Railway(Frisco), Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad(Katy), and Southern Pacific Railroad.

In 1954, the building served as a temporary library while the Dallas Public Library system built a new central library to replace the original Carnegie Library.

Originally, the 2nd level waiting room was connected to train platforms via an overhead walkway, but this design was never popular with travelers as they needed to climb a large number of stairs. Escalators were added, but the Grand Hall was finally abandoned in favor of renovated ticketing and a waiting room on the ground floor (still in use today). Also, an underground corridor replaced the overhead walkway, with ramps at each platform.

The last privately-owned passenger train to serve Union Station left on May 31, 1969. Amtrak service began in 1974 with the Inter-American between St. Louis and Laredo; the train evolved into today's Texas Eagle. DART's light-rail service began at the station on June 14, 1996. The station's upper-level waiting room was re-purposed into meeting and convention space for the Hyatt Regency Dallas, which is connected via an underground walkway.

In 1934, as part of the federally-sponsored Public Works of Art Project, Jerry Bywaters and Alexander Hogue were granted the first commission in Texas to create a series of 10 murals depicting events in Dallas history. They had painted them on the walls of the second-floor lobby at the old Dallas City Hall Building, located on Harwood Street between Main and Commerce Streets. In 1954, the original murals were destroyed when City Hall relocated. When the station was renovated to accommodate light rail usage, the murals were partially recreated by Phillip Lamb along the train platforms at Union Station.

• Passengers at the DART Red Line platforms

• Trinity Railway Express commuter train