The Union Station, at 801

South 10th Street South 10th Street is a two-way street that runs south-north from Downtown into South Omaha, Nebraska. Beginning at Dodge Street, South 10th Street passes Gene Leahy Mall and borders the ConAgra Campus and the Old Market. Its southern reaches a ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, known also as Union Passenger Terminal, is "one of the finest examples of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture in the

Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

".(nd
"Union Station".
City of Omaha Landmarks Heritage Preservation Commission. Retrieved 7/8/07. Designated an

Omaha Landmark This article covers Omaha landmarks designated by the City of Omaha Landmark Heritage Preservation Commission. In addition, it includes structures or buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places and those few designated as Natio ...

in 1978, it was listed as "Union Passenger Terminal" on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1971, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in 2016.. The Union Station is also a contributing property to the

Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District The Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, roughly bounded by Jackson, 15th, and 8th Streets, as well as the Union Pacific main line, is located in Downtown Omaha, downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Today this Historic districts in the United State ...

. It was the Union Pacific's first

railroad station,Durham Western Heritage Museum. (nd
Museum Exterior Architecture.
Retrieved 7/14/07. and the completion of the terminal "firmly established Omaha as an important railroad terminus in the Midwest".

History

The second depot was designed by

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

architect

Charles Sumner Frost Charles Sumner Frost (May 31, 1856 – December 11, 1931) was an American architect. He is best known as the architect of Navy Pier and for designing over 100 buildings for the Chicago and North Western Railway. Biography Born in Lewiston, Main ...

, and construction began in October, 1898. Completed on December 1, 1899 at a cost of $405,782, the building's façade rose above the Tenth Street Viaduct the building faced. It was primarily built from pressed brick made in Omaha, as well as Bedford stone used in the architectural details. A canopy of glass and iron protected passengers from the elements as they entered the station.

Current structure

Gilbert Stanley Underwood Gilbert Stanley Underwood (June 5, 1890 – August 3, 1961) was an American architect best known for his National Park lodges. Biography Born in 1890, Underwood received his B.A. from Yale in 1920 and a M.A. from Harvard in 1923. After openi ...

of Los Angeles, the current building features a

steel frame Steel frame is a building technique with a "skeleton frame" of vertical steel columns and horizontal I-beams, constructed in a rectangular grid to support the floors, roof and walls of a building which are all attached to the frame. The develop ...

structure that is clad with cream-colored glazed

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

. Groundbreaking occurred on July 29, 1929, and the building was completed on January 15, 1931. The cost $3.5 million to build. Of the building's design, Underwood was said to have remarked, "We have tried to express the distinctive character of the railroad: strength, power, masculinity."Potter, J. G. (1996) ''Great American Railroad Stations.'' John Wiley and Sons. p. 377. At its dedication, Carl R. Gray, president of the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

, declared the station to be, "Dedicated by the railways of Omaha to serve, comfort and convenience of the people." The construction of the station was preceded by the construction of the Burlington Train Station one block away. Within ten years that station was served by seven railroads. Upon its completion, the Union Station became renowned for its technological innovations, including electric luggage conveyor belts, escalators and extensive lighting throughout the building. Simultaneously, patrons and critics alike appreciated the traditional and lavish attributes of the building, including massive women's restrooms, beautiful marble columns and flooring throughout, and deep oak woodwork surrounding every window and door in the station.(1939) ''Railroad Age.'' Simmons-Boardman. p. 134. During its first year, 1.5 million passengers passed through. By 1946, 64 steam locomotives were in operation bringing 10,000 passengers daily in and out of the Union Station.Cook, H. (1997) "Renovation keeps museum on track," ''Building Design and Construction''. April. However, within a decade everything changed. In 1956 the

Chicago and North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

stopped its line running through Omaha. 1960 saw the exit of

Wabash Railroad The Wabash Railroad was a Class I railroad that operated in the mid-central United States. It served a large area, including track in the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, and Missouri and the province of Ontario. Its primary con ...

. In 1965 the

Missouri Pacific Railroad The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad o ...

and the

Chicago Great Western Railway The Chicago Great Western Railway was a Class I railroad that linked Chicago, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Kansas City. It was founded by Alpheus Beede Stickney in 1885 as a regional line between St. Paul and the Iowa state line called the Minnesot ...

quit running, followed by the

Rock Island Railroad The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At ...

in 1969. Passenger service ceased in 1971, and the Union Station was donated to the City of Omaha by the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...

in 1973. That year the station quickly became the home of the

Durham Museum Durham Museum may refer to * Durham Museum, Durham in the United Kingdom * Durham University Museum of Archaeology in the United Kingdom * Durham Museum, Omaha, Nebraska in the United States See also * List of museums in County Durham * :Museums i ...

. The Union Pacific Museum and Archives were also located there. In 1997 the Union Station underwent a renovation that included a addition and new climate controls for the museum, and today the building is a contributing property to the Omaha Rail and Commerce Historic District, bordering the Old Market Historic District and Omaha's

Little Italy Little Italy is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an Urban area, urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian cul ...

Bibliography

* (1973) ''Historical Architecture of Omaha'' by Henry W. Wong. * (2001) ''Union Pacific and Omaha Union Station'' by Carla Johnson. * (1999) ''Omaha railroad Stations'' by John Peterson.

References

External links

Historic postcard
*

{{Authority control History of Downtown Omaha, Nebraska National Register of Historic Places in Omaha, Nebraska National Historic Landmarks in Nebraska Former railway stations in Omaha, Nebraska Railway stations in the United States opened in 1931

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Art Deco architecture in Nebraska Art Deco railway stations Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Nebraska Gilbert Stanley Underwood buildings

1931 establishments in Nebraska

Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Nebraska Railway stations in the United States closed in 1971