Ode to a day when Train Travel ruled the world — its stations overfilled with people, smoking cigarettes. High ceilings were built — spectacularly high ceilings to dim the noise of so many people and let the cigarette smoke climb high away from everyone.
Many of the elite train stations built at the turn of the 20th Century were spectacular in their architecture. Some — most notably Penn Station in New York City — were demolished. A few — most notably Grand Central Station in NYC and the others listed in this article — remain.
Here are the 11 most architecturally spectacular train stations in the US of today, including a surprise newcomer to the list — and one from yesteryear:
1. Grand Central Station in NYC
Manhattan’s Grand Central, one of the nation’s busiest stations, is famed for its mighty Beaux-Arts concourse. Beaux-Arts was the design style most prevalently used at the turn of the 20th century, up until Art Deco took over in the 1920’s. Beaux-Arts is noted for its grandeur and use of columns.
Grand Central Station has an amazing ceiling, with a mural of celestial constellations.
Grand Central used to be even more magnificent inside — as it was designed for light to pour in through its high windows. Unfortunately, that light no longer pours in as it was designed due to surrounding skyscrapers built after Grand Central’s construction. This is how the interior looked in 1929:
If you have never had a steak at Michael Jordan’s Restaurant in Grand Central Terminal, which is perched on one of the mezzanines overlooking the bustle below — you have not lived.
2. Union Station in Washington DC
Another amazing station that escaped the wrecking ball — and which has been cleaned up and looks as good as ever — is Union Station in Washington DC. Another Beaux-Arts design, with use of doric column structures and a high dome ceiling in its main part. I have been in Union Station in Washington DC about 300 times in the last 10 years, taking Amtrak to and from NYC.
3. Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri
The Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri is so beautiful you may want to take a train to Kansas City just to see it.
It is of Beaux-Arts style with a decorative high ceiling. It has a website, here.
It also has a model train exhibit featuring the trains that have frequented the station, including the Sante Fe line (now Burlington Northern Sante Fe, or BNSF). The 8,000-square-foot model railroad is open 9am-5pm on the North end of the station’s Grand Plaza.
Here is a good video on the Model Train exhibit:
4. Union Station in Denver
Opened in 1881, rebuilt in 1914, and renovated in 2014 — Union Station in Denver was, when it opened, the tallest building in the West. It is a destination onto itself, and a place to stay — with an adjoining Crawford Hotel.
Its interior has a modest Beaux-Arts design. Check out its website for more information.
5. Union Terminal in Cincinnati
Union Terminal in Cincinnati is an amazing Art Deco station that recently underwent a $220 Million renovation.
Here is a good walk-through video of the station:
6. Sante Fe Depot in San Diego
The Santa Fe Depot is a Union Station in San Diego, California. Built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, it opened in 1915 to accommodate visitors to the Panama-California Exposition.
Bakewell and Brown designed the building in Mission Revival styling — to reflect the colonial Spanish history of the state. The design was intended to harmonize with the Spanish Colonial Revival Style buildings of the Panama-California Exposition.
7. 30th Street Station in Philadelphia
Opened in 1933, and currently undergoing a $550 Million renovation, the 30th Street Station in Philly is known for the massively high, Art Deco ceiling of its Grand Concourse.
8. Union Station in Los Angeles
Built in 1939, Union Station in Los Angeles was conceived on a grand scale — designed to consolidate rail services from the Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Southern Pacific Railroads into one terminal station.
Union Station became known as the “Last of the Great Railway Stations” built in the United States. It combines Art Deco, Mission Revival, and Streamline Moderne design styles.
9. King Street Station in Seattle
Built between 1904 and 1906 by the Great Northern Railway and Northern Pacific Railway, the King Street Station was the tallest building in Seattle when it was completed.
The station was designed by Reed and Stem. Its clocktower (above) was inspired by St. Mark’s Campanile in Venice. Its interior incorporated elements from various architectural styles.
10. Union Station in Worcester, Massachusetts
The Union Station in Worcester, Massachusetts opened in 1911. It was designed by Watson & Huckel in a French Renaissance Revival style.
11. Moynihan Train Hall in NYC
Currently a bit of a hidden jewel in NYC — even to native New Yorkers — is the new Amtrak station in the old Post Office on 34th Street and 8th Avenue, which opened in January 2021. Housed in the gorgeous Beaux-Arts style Post Office, the station features a 92-foot-high all-glass ceiling and an Art Deco clock at its center.
The Post Office — these days named the James A. Farley Building — was designed by McKim, Mead & White and originally opened in 1912. It has 20 Corinthian-style columns that span from 31st to 33rd Streets. The design was intended to match the scale of the original Pennsylvania Station building, which was across the street and designed by the same architects.
12. The Penn Station in NYC of Yesteryear
And finally one last entry — a train station that doesn’t exist anymore unless you travel back in time. NYC’s original Pennsylvania Station — aka Penn Station — torn down in 1963 to build Madison Square Garden. The train station was put underground — underneath the Garden.
It was one of the most amazing train stations ever built, but went into disrepair when airplanes overtook trains as the main mode of travel in the 1960’s.
That was before the current movement of the last 20 years to renovate the grand train stations of old. Tearing down of the old Penn Station is considered to be one of the worst moments in architecture history.
The station was designed by McKim, Mead & White (same team that designed and built the NYC Post Office across the street on 8th Avenue and 34th Street — see entry above) and opened in 1910.
At its entrance were massive Doric columns; in fact the station was called “a great Doric temple to transportation”. The exterior was adorned with mighty, freestanding stone eagles (see picture below), which weighed up to 5,700 pounds each.
The main waiting room was the largest indoor space in NYC. The interior and exterior drew inspiration from St. Peter’s Basilica, the Bank of England, and the Baths of Caracalla in Rome.
It was the 4th-largest building on Earth.
The main waiting room had Corinthian columns that led up to a majestic marble ceiling that was 150 feet high.
It had a soaring train shed which featured arching steel girders, staggered mezzanines, and glass-block floors that let sunlight through to the tracks.
To top it all off, a huge clock hung under the glass dome in the main concourse.
The information in this coverage of Penn Station comes from a tweet by Culture Critic.
As amazing as all of that sounds — you have to remember what Penn Station became in the early 60’s after airplane travel took over and railroads started to go bankrupt. The mighty Penn Station became mostly empty, not used — full of derelicts and cheesy flea markets on weekends. It would be different today — when — as seen by the stations above — we renovate and utilize these classic buildings.
Comments? Feedback?
So that is our list of 11 Most Architecturally Beautiful Train Stations in the United States. The order is arguable, and if you disagree, or have another train station you feel should be on the list — please let us know in the comments below.
These stations are so gorgeous I now want to take a train to get to them, just to spend the afternoon in them!