
LARGEST - Railway Express Building in the Nation - Kansas City, MO
Posted by:
YoSam.
N 39° 05.055 W 094° 35.090
15S E 362925 N 4327321
The old Union Station Powerhouse building has been renovated by the Kansas City Ballet. It is the ballet's new home and is known as the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity since August 2011
Waymark Code: WM11ZFR
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2020
Views: 4
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 built in 1914 for $6 million by the Kansas City Terminal Railroad. Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt designed the Station in the beaux-arts [sic] architectural style.
In 1914, the newly built Union Station complex consisted of 10 levels, 900 rooms and about 850,000 square feet of space. Along with the T-shaped Headhouse containing ticketing, a waiting room, restaurants, several shops and various railroad offices, the complex also included the nation's largest Railway Express Building (used for freight and mail). A Power House provided steam heat and power to operate the Station and the Railroad's many operations.
UNION STATION MASSACRE
In 1933 convicted mobster Frank Nash, under escort by a team of FBI agents and Kansas City, Mo. police officers, is killed in front of Union Station. Four law enforcement officials also die as fellow mobsters tried to free the captured Nash. The event makes national headlines and becomes known as the "Union Station Massacre".
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.