Union Station Kansas City

by Jeffrey Spivak
































Notes
taken by Mercedes Padro on Monday, October 13, 2014

p. 7
At its opening in 1878, headlines called Union Depot the handsomest and Largest Depot West
of New York. It symbolized the remarkable growth of the young Kansas City

p.12
In June 1903 everything changed. Floodwaters swamped the West Bottoms and Union Depot.
First the torrents swept through the depots downstairs, tearing down doors and ripping out
window sashes. At the oods peak the waiting room was lled to a depth of 6 feet 7 inches,
while outside only the black humps on top of locomotives were visible. The depot was closed for
a week.

p.1-26
Jarvis Hunt-chief architect. Make a Monument
p.19
His chief architectural aide, Charles Bohasseck, years later recalled Hunt as
an individual as distinctive and unpredictable as any I ever knew
and one who had the ability to soften his blunt and harsh comments
with the neatest kind of profanity artistically rendered.
man with connections

p.28
The Star declared that the design added up to a magnicent building,
elaborate in proportions and monumental in appearance.

p.40
Construction begins January 1912.

p.42
Dangerous work- Dynamite explosions were a constant occurrence on the station site.

p.48
Union Station construction wages:
Carpenters: 60 cents/hour
Unskilled laborers: 27.5-30 cents/hour

p.55
Friday, Oct. 30, 1914 grand opening: a celebration
Julia Elledgethe 8-year-old[had] been told that the school was closing
for the week so everyone could participate in the citys train-station opening.

p.57
architectural spectacle

p. 62
The Old Union Depot, ancient and worn at 36 years, has encountered the whole category of
human endeavor and emotions in her day = Glimpses into her past

p.69
In the hall, life seemed to proceed in slow motion. The vastness of the room subconsciously
cast a restraint on your behavior.

p.70
Life, at its swiftest tide, ows through your gates-Katerine Edelman, poet

p.73
Hemingway was a reporter for the Kansas City Star after highschool for 6.5 months.
He was one of the rst reporters on Union Station.

p. 85 [interesting illustration on roaring 20s Union Station]

p.93
Great Depression during the 1930s- Good food, good service, reasonable price

p.102
The year Prohibition began, a curious thing happened at Union Station. On the last night of
1920, a few hundred peoplegathered under the big clock between the Grand Hall and the
waiting room. There they counted down the nal seconds before midnight and ushered in the
new year with whoops and whistles.
For one night Union Station was the center of the citys wide-open, party-till-dawn,
swinging culture.

p.105
The Massacre- June 17, 1933 shootout, 4 federal agents 2 KC police detectives, and Oklahoma
police chief were there to escort gangster Frank Nash back to prison.
Frank Nash-bank robber who escaped from the penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas
5 dead detectives/ofcers.

p.108
In Hoovers zeal to have his agents solve the case, Richetti became the only man to go on trial
for a Massacre killing. A combination of eyewitnesses, circumstantial evidence and a ngerprint
convicted him. He died in Missouris gas chambers.

p.117
The heart of America- largest Union Station in country aside from New York, 1920s

p. 117-137
Keywords:
Progress, gateway to west, expansion, travel, streamlined, safety and speed, romanticized

p.137 of travel and faraway places.

p.138
Throughout World War II, Union Station was the scene of emotional moments as members of
the armed services left for war and returned.
I received two dozen beautiful red roses and a telegram saying Lynn would be arriving at the
station at 9:15 p.m. The family was there, and at 9:20 p.m. he was there. I was very excitedAll
those who had been praying and sending notes of encouragement were calling and writing us
and we were happier than ever you can imagine.

p.159, 166, 167nice 1950s photos with motion.

p.173
Union Station was to be demolished. A project brochure even stated: Before present station
facilities can be removed, a new station must be provided.

p.175interesting scan

p.182
Nobody knows what to do about it.

p.187 interesting 1987 rendering showing botanical gar dents at station.

p.188
Pigeons, paint chips, plaster and puddles.
During the stations painful decline, the estimated cost to renovate it had jumped tenfold, from
$4 million to $40 million.

p.189interesting photo in front of Fred Harvey shops/restaurants.

p.190-191
I wonder if Union Station is nothing but a bottomless bit in which money can be poured into.-
George Thompson, Terminal Railway president.
I could see a train wreck coming.-Irvine Hockaday

p.204
The road to the vote, to renovate Union Station, with a specic sales tax to apply toward
renovation.

p.217
None of us knew what the hell he was doing. But, if there wasnt a David Ucko, this wouldnt
have gotten done.-William T. Esrey

p.220-221
Adventure, immersion and experiences.
the designers spent their rst months on the job basically learning a new language. Ucko
held one meeting to dene some terms. He didn't want the word exhibit used. He wanted his
designers to think of adventure and immersion.

p.230
Renovation begins in early 1998.