Union Station
Architectural style: Beaux Arts Classicism and Italian Romanesque (Wings)
Built: 1881, 1914
Architect: Aaron Gove and Thomas F. Walsh
The proliferation of railroads into Denver brought many travelers, but also resulted in numerous railroad depots around the city. To aid confused travelers, the Denver Union Depot was built to consolidate the many stations. On May 13, 1881, Union Depot opened. This first building, with its 180-foot tower filled with electric lights, was constructed with pink lava stone called rhyolite. Manitou sandstone from Morrison, Colorado, was placed over the doors and windows.
On March 18, 1894, a fire broke out in the main section of the station, destroying the tower and the southwest side of the building. Almost immediately reconstruction was done in a similar Romanesque style. Reorganization of the Denver Union Terminal Railway Company and growing business prompted the razing of the central portion of the terminal, which was replaced with the structure that stands today. The two wings on each side remain from the original construction of 1881.
When passenger trains were a popular way to travel, Union Station saw sixty to eighty daily arrivals and departures and as many as a million passengers a year. After World War II the popularity and frequency of train travel began to wane.
On July 4, 1906, Mayor Robert Speer dedicated the Welcome Arch in front of Union Station. The arch was a 65-foot-high, 85-foot-wide gateway structure with 2,194 light bulbs, and served as Denver's "front door". In 1908 the Wynkoop Street side was changed to "MIZPAH", a Hebrew parting salutation from Genesis 31:49. According to one story, some unenlightened Denverites thought that "MIZPAH" was an Indian word that meant "Howdy, Pardner"! Two decades later, the arch was torn down, some say because it had become a traffic hazard. Today's gateway signage identifying the boundaries of the Lower Downtown Historic District reflects the style and welcome message from the arch that once greeted new arrivals to Denver City.
Denver's Union Station is enjoying a new life again as the hub for several light rail lines and major bus lines.
Union Station Clock
Denver's Union Station has had several clock towers; the one being posted in the Waymark is from 1914. Previous clock tower either burned or were replaced during renovations. There is a 3-D Denver Union Station at this link.
The plaque reads:
Denver's Union Station was constructed to consolidate rail activity in the city and to replace the four separate stations serving the boom town. When completed in 1880 in an Italianate style of Colorado rhyolite with sandstone trim. The station measured 504 feet in length and was topped by a 128 foot tower, making it the largest structure in Colorado at the time. Twenty thousand proud Denverites attended the opening festivities of the station. The 1880 building was designed by architect William E. Taylor of Kansas City. Its two wings were expanded in 1892, making the station 880 feet long. A spectacular fire, probably caused by an electrical short destroyed the central part of the station on March 18, 1984. The insurance paid up, and the station was rebuilt under the supervision of Van Brunt and Howe architects of Kansas City. As railway traffic burgeoned, the railroad companies began to push for a newer, bigger station. In 1914, the 1894 portion was razed and replaced by a central three-story Neoclassical section which still stands. During World War II, more than 80 trains a day passed through Union Station. As late as the mid-1980's there were a mere two. Yet the three-story, semi-circular windows of Union Station looking down 17th Street reflect a history which catapulted Denver from being a dusty mining town to its status as Queen City of the Plains.