A brief review of the rise and fall, and then rebirth of one of the nations great railroad terminals.
The building was designed with the great railroad halls of Europe in mind. Built in a Beaux-Arts style, and with huge archways and great window walls, it was meant to give visiting dignitaries and heads of states a sense of awe and wonder.
The terminal first was built to serve the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) and the Pennsylvania Rail Road (PRR), and thrived from it's opening in 1908 till the post war decline in railroad traffic, due to freeways and airports making those options more economical and faster. With the drop in traffic, the terminal suffered, and was soon known as a place where vagrants would loiter, and commuters would enter and leave through a small block house in the back, while the main building was converted into a bicentennial visitors center, with a poorly thought out "Slide Show Amphitheater" leaving a gigantic pit in the middle of the floor, when the concept bombed.
In 1988, a long and very expensive restoration and renovation effort resulted in a revitalized and reborn Union Station. The results were spectacular, as the building now housed a tour bus terminal and parking, a metro station, two levels of railroad platforms, and a large shopping mall area and food court.
With time, the place is starting to show it's age once again, and some of the shopping areas sit vacant, and the homeless population can be a pesky problem, yet the place remains a crucial part of the Nation's Capitols transportation and tourism sectors. Amtrak has big plans for their HQ and crown jewel, with plans to double the railroad capacity and new parking facilities to make it easier and safer for travelers to use them.
