Union Station

Union Station. . The Grand Union Station and its ornate arcade was the third and final train station to occupy the spot where the Columbus Convention Center now stands. Designed by celebrated architect Daniel H. Burnham, it featured the Grand Concourse which housed a marble-lined waiting room, the swanky Merkle’s restaurant, and numerous service facilities. The impressive High Street arcade’s stores and offices were connected to the station via a long, canopied walkway. , Columbus’ first Union Station, built in 1850, was a crucial step toward establishing the area’s reputation in transportation and manufacturing, Ecstatically welcomed at first, the station and tracks came to be hated for cutting the city in half. By 1864, at least four railroads crossed High Street, blocking traffic and infuriating citizens who lived or had business in the growing North Side. , To resolve the problem, a new station was built 350 feet east of High Street. However, with thirteen railroads ultimately crossing the street, the congestion between train and road traffic became unbearable. In 1875. a tunnel was dug beneath the tracks for High Street traffic. , Unfortunately, the horse-powered streetcars soon so befouled the tunnel that other traffic and pedestrians refused to use it, preferring to brave crossing the tracks at street level. , By 1891, the traffic situation on High Street reached a crisis for the nearly 55,000 pedestrians and commuters, with the roadway blocked for up to seven hours per day by over 200 crossing trains. Finally in 1893, the viaduct that we use today was built over the tracks, thus eliminating the problem. , The magnificent third station and arcade opened in 1897. It was drastically remodeled in 1929, but as rail travel declined and finally ended in Columbus, the station was demolished in 1976. One of the great arches was preserved and now stands at the end of McPherson Commons in the Arena District.