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History

There are Union Stations all across America, but there is only one grand Washington Union Station – the Nation’s Station.  Washington Union Station is one of the country’s first great union railroad terminals and is the only federally-owned train station in the United States.
 
Situated in the center of the region’s transportation network, Union Station is a vital connector to the Northeast Corridor and acts as the gateway to the emerging Southeast Rail Corridor. As the second busiest rail station in the country, it services more people each year than Washington, D.C.’s three regional airports. 

Images Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Debate on construction of the new station raged for two full years until Congress passed S.4825 entitled, “An Act to provide a union railroad station in the District of Columbia.” The bill was signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 28, 1903. The legislation authorized the Washington Terminal Company to build a new train station that would be “monumental in character” and would likely cost about $4 million.

The new spending plan included funds for terminal grades, bridges, viaducts, coach and freight yards, tunnels, shops, support buildings and other infrastructure. Union Station was designed by renowned architect Daniel Burnham and completed in April 1908. Centrally located alongside the US Capitol, Washington’s Union Station is a centerpiece for people coming to visit their seat of government, as intended by the President and Congress. During World War II as many as 200,000 passengers a day passed through the station and the USO operated a canteen in the station during the War. Today, the number is closer to 70,000 people a day.

Saving Union Station the First Time

Saving Union

Station the

First Time

Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress

During the 1980s the station underwent a major renovation. Completed in 1988, the effort restored the station’s grandeur and remade it into a transportation, shopping, and dining megaplex.

Structural Improvements

During the early 1940s, Union Station was a thriving transportation hub serving up to 42,000 passengers daily. After 1945, conditions deteriorated quickly. The demand on transportation during World War II wore greatly on the station, and repairs were often done inexpensively, diminishing the station’s elegance. Public trends shifted from rail to automobiles, buses and planes for long-distance travel, which further diminished rail passenger revenues, station activity and the feeling of excitement that once permeated throughout the building.

“By 1956, however, the U.S. government was committed to building out the interstate highway system. The largest public works project in history, the government’s investment in automobile infrastructure led to a steep decline in rail use across the nation.

In parts of the District, the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. ushered in an era of disinvestment and violence, to the detriment of NoMa’s commercial and community growth. Beginning in the 1970s, drug use escalated in impoverished neighborhoods within and around NoMa’s boundaries. In the 1980s, Hanover Place NW was an open-air drug market colloquially known as “the Garden of Eden of the drug scene.” Infamous kingpins Rayful Edmond III and Tony Lewis Sr., along with the P Street and R Street crews, maintained a strong presence in the area and contributed to the crack epidemic of the 1980s. NoMa was caught between several major drug markets whose conflicts played out on neighborhood streets, changing the course of well-meaning ventures such as Sursum Corda, a low-income co-op development built in the late 1960s. During that time, addiction and death were normalized to the young men and women living in these environments.”

– NoMa Neighborhood History | NoMa BID

In the late 1950s, the Station’s owners began searching for an alternative use. In 1964, the District of Columbia designated the building a historic landmark and in 1969, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places; Columbus Plaza, located in the front of the station, was listed in 1980.
 
During the mid-1960s, the federal government took over the building for use as a new National Visitor Center. However, a lack of funding for the conversion, poor design and changing tastes made it a failure soon after it opened in 1976. 
The “Pit” from the National Visitor Center.

Image Courtesy of the Library of Congress

1981 – Congress Passes the Union Station Redevelopment Act

Congress passed the Union Station Redevelopment Act in 1981. It stated that, “the Secretary of Transportation shall provide for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Union Station complex primarily as a multiple-use transportation terminal serving the Nation’s Capital, and secondarily as a commercial complex.” Some specifics from the Act include:

  • Preservation of the exterior façade and other historically and architecturally significant features of the Union Station building; 
  • Restoration and operation of a portion of the historic Union Station building as a rail passenger station, together with facilities for charter, transit, and intercity buses in the Union Station complex;
  • Commercial development of the Union Station complex to financially support its continued operation and maintenance; 
  • The act transferred station ownership to USDOT so congress could appropriate funds for repair damage done to Union Station’s roof by a severe storm.
  • Since 1981, Washington Union Station has been the nation’s train station. Whereas nearly all other multimodal facilities are owned by state or municipal transportation entities, Union Station is federally-owned.

1983 – Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) Established

The United States Secretary of Transportation, Senator Elizabeth Dole, established the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), the Federal government’s first-ever public-private partnership, to oversee redevelopment and implement a new, self-sustaining model for station maintenance and vitality. USRC oversaw the restoration of the station.

1988 – Restoration Complete

In 1988, then United States Secretary of Transportation Jim Burnley cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of the station’s revitalization as a transportation hub and the addition of three new levels of retail space. For the next 25 years, the station was a premier example of transit oriented development. USRC successfully maintained Union Station for 30+ years without federal financial support.

1991 – Amtrak Launches Acela

Amtrak made investments to enable its popular Acela service.

  • The launch of VRE in 1992, and the expansion of MARC service through the late 80s- mid 90s caused catalytic rail ridership increases. Amtrak also experienced incredible growth through the 1990s.
  • Station passenger volumes continue to increase exponentially and improvements are not able to keep up with the growth demands on the station’s infrastructure.

2012 – Intercity Bus Facility

Intercity bus service launches in the main garage level at Union Station.

2012 – Amtrak Releases the Union Station Master Plan 

  • The 2012 Union Station Master Plan is an aspirational vision and planning effort. It helped Amtrak and USRC define goals for long-term expansion of the station and near-term improvements to passenger facilities. It is the first expansion plan of Union Station in over a century. 

2014 – US Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Initiates Environmental Impact Statement Review Process for Union Station’s Expansion

  • The Union Station Expansion Project (SEP) is being developed by USRC and Amtrak. Furthermore, the public EIS (Environmental Impact Statement) process is being led by FRA, in coordination with responsible governmental agencies and in accordance with applicable laws.
  • During the SEP EIS process, certain elements of the 2012 Union Station Master Plan vision were determined to be impractical or inconsistent with other relevant policy and planning goals. The SEP would implement the 2012 Union Station Master Plan’s objective for an improved station that meets multimodal transportation needs, enhances the customer experience, and facilitates future air-rights development.

2020 – FRA releases Draft EIS

  • FRA releases a preferred alternative which includes extensive above grade parking. While local, regional and private stakeholders largely supported the proposed facility’s expansion, there was nearly unanimous opposition to the parking plan.

2022 – FRA releases Revised Project Concept – A New Vision

  • Informed by feedback from agencies, stakeholders and the general public, FRA reviewed and revised project elements in cooperation with other key stakeholders. In the summer, the new project vision is presented to the Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) and the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). Each commission expressed strong support for the revised vision. 
  • There is broad public, local, regional and federal support for the new plan.
  • July 2022 WaPo Article: Union Station redevelopment: A first look at new plans – The Washington Post

About US

The Alliance is a group of individuals and organizations from across the region who are committed to the restoration of Washington Union Station. The Alliance is led by former Secretaries of Transportation who believe that a significant federal investment in the project can jump start the renovation of the Nation’s Station.
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