Union Station wears its elegance, and old age, well. The thriving transportation hub turned 100 this month and celebrated with a bustling open house. No, Willard Scott wasn’t there. But thousands of local residents and passengers dropped by, helping to pay homage to what has become the most visited site in DC and a major transportation hub for Downtown. Who says old age cramps your style? Union Station has much to celebrate—a bright future and even more to offer.
Because thousands of workers and visitors arrive in Downtown DC from Union Station, which serves as an essential transportation resource for Amtrak, the MARC and VRE commuter trains and Metrorail, it has a tremendous impact on Downtown’s economic and cultural scene. Factor in the DC Circulator, which offers continuous bus transportation between Union Station and Downtown locations—including the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and various hotels—and we just want to say, “Glad you’re here Union Station!”
Coming next year: the Union Station Bicycle Transit Center, which will provide people arriving at the station the option to bike to Downtown and other locations. The station will have storage for 150 bikes and offer bike rentals, parking, repairs and accessories. Also, the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has designed a report, The Union Station ITC Feasibility Study, to investigate developing, designing and constructing a new Intermodal Transportation Center at Union Station and nearby Burnham Place.
Union Station has come a long way. Resurrected from blight in 1988 when a public-private partnership spent $160 million to restore and reopen the Beaux Arts building, the vital historic resource now welcomes more than 32 million visitors every year, including diners and shoppers and rail and subway passengers. That’s cause for celebration, which is what Union Station is doing all year for both the 100-year celebration of its construction and the 20-year anniversary of its renovation.
As a major transportation hub, the station also has transformed the Capitol Hill neighborhood where it resides on the edge of the Downtown BID area and created a lively destination place with high-end retail and restaurants. Dubbed the “Gateway to Washington,” it’s hard to imagine a runaway train crashed thorough the main concourse back in the 1950s. Thank goodness only welcome hordes of visitors and passengers flood the concourse these days, with more expected!