Union Station - Kansas City, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 05.092 W 094° 35.027
15S E 363017 N 4327388
eighth and final of a series of markers in The Link
Waymark Code: WMM0X4
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 06/29/2014
Views: 6
County of marker: Jackson County
Location of marker: Pershing Rd, Crown Center Walk, Kansas City
Marker erected by: Kansas City Tourism Bureau
Marker text:
Union Station was constructed in 1914 by the Kansas City Terminal Railway Company to replace the 1878 Union Depot near the stockyards in the flood plane area known as the West Bottoms.
Rail traffic peaked during World War I, with 79,368 trains passing through this Station, including 271 trains on the day. A record 678,363 travelers, with a significant number of American's armed forces personnel, passed through Union Station on their way home from World War I.
During the 1950s , and 1960s, rail traffic declined as the airline industry grew. By 1973 only six trains a day passed through Union Station and in 1983 Union Station is virtually closed. The only businesses still open are the Amtrak ticket office and the Lobster Pot Restaurant. In 1989 even they have left the station.
Instead of serving passengers, Union Station has found new life as an entertainment and education destination. Amtrak will resume service from the Station in 2002.
The Link, an elevated 880-foot long elevated pedestrian walkway, offers enclosed, climate-controlled access between the Hyatt Regency Crown Center Hotel and the Westin Crown Center Hotel, as well as the Crown Center Shops and office buildings in the complex. An additional elevated pedestrian walkway links the Westin with the newly remodeled Union Station.