Downtown Seattle in King County, Washington — The American West (Northwest)

Union Station

Designed by Daniel J. Patterson

— Dedicated on May 20, 1911 —

Union Station Marker image. Click for full size.

October 10, 2019

1. Union Station Marker

Inscription. Restored and rededicated by Sound Transit on October 16, 1999 to link the past and future of public transportation and serve the Central Puget Sound community. Union Station served as the Seattle passenger terminal for the Oregon - Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, Union Pacific Railroad, and Milwaukee Roads lines from 1911 until 1971. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on August 30, 1974, and is included in the City of Seattle’s International Special Review District and Pioneer Square Preservation District. Union Station was restored and adapted in 1999 to serve as the headquarters of Sound Transit – the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority – and hub for its regional system in cooperation with Union Station Associates. The project was make possible by the vision and tax dollars of the citizens of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties, who approve development of a new regional transit system in 1996.

Erected 1999 by Sound Transit.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1905.

Location.

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47° 35.937′ N, 122° 19.72′ W. Marker is in Seattle, Washington, in King County. It is in Downtown Seattle. It is on South Jackson Street near 4th Avenue South, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 401 South Jackson Street, Seattle WA 98104, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Washington’s Puget Sound Region.

It is also on the American Pacific Coast,

in the Pacific Northwest,

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

in the Cascade Range,

in the Inside Passage,

on the Ring of Fire,

in the Pacific Rim,

in the Western Hemisphere,

in the Western World,

and in the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Seattle Chinatown Gate (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); King Street Station (about 400 feet away); What makes a city? (about 400 feet away); Vindication, Healing, and the Legacy of Justice (about 400 feet away); Gordon Hirabayashi (about 400 feet away); Reclaiming our Roots (about 400 feet away); A Community Takes Root (about 400 feet away); Great Northern Tunnel (about 400 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Seattle.

Also see . . . National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form.

Statement of Significance (1974): Seattle's Union Station is significcint as an important transportation intersection that once helped to exert strong pressures on the patterns

of local and regional development. It is also a fine example of monumental railroad architecture which survives to this day as one of the best designed structures in the industrial portion of the city.

The station was Resigned by architect D. J. Patterson of San Francisco. Major elements
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 17, 2011

2. Union Station Marker
The marker is located to the right of the right-hand set of doors.
of the station categorize it architecturally as representative of the Roman Classic Revival period of the early 1900's. Ground was broken for the station's construction in January 1910. The station was completed for occupancy May 1, 1911 and 1910. The station was completed for occupancy May 1, 1911 and formal dedication ceremonies were conducted on May 21, 1911.

(Submitted on February 22, 2026, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)

Union Station image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 17, 2011

3. Union Station

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, February 20, 2026

4. Union Station

Photographed by Douglass Halvorsen, February 20, 2026

5. Union Station

A photo of the beautiful interior of Union Station, looking south from the main entrance.

Credits. This page was last revised on February 22, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 11, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 1,011 times since then and 39 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on November 5, 2019, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 2, 3. submitted on October 11, 2011, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. 4, 5. submitted on February 22, 2026, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.