Union Stations Across the U.S.
By Beryl Frank
Louisville, Kentucky
The Union Station in Louisville, Kentucky, was originally owned by the Louisville & Nashville Railroad but was used by three other railroads. The other three were the Pennsylvania; the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis; and the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville.
The station was dedicated on September 7, 1891, and the total cost of the structure was $310,056. In 1891, the finished station was called the largest station in the South. All contractors with the exception of Seth Thomas for the clock and the Kendall Company for the skylights came from Louisville.
The station was designed by F. W. Mobray, who was the chief architect for the L&N Railroad. The building is in Richardson Romanesque style with brick-faced limestone which was quarried in Green, Kentucky. The trim is Bedford stone and the roof, trussed with a combination of heavy wood and iron, is covered with slate.
A tower stood tall at each corner of the building. The tower which stood tallest was five stories high and had a clock with four faces pointing to the four corners of the earth.
Both the north and south facades had stained glass rose windows. The fire of 1905 broke out in the northwest tower and the 20-foot rose window fell to the ceramic tile floor. Most of the interior repairs were done in the rapid time of five months.
According to one source, nearly every immigrant to Louisville, countless servicemen from World Wars I and II, General John J. Pershing and three United States presidents came to Louisville by way of Union Station. The presidents were Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Passenger service ended in 1976 and the L&N sold the station to the city. Restoration began one year later. The new occupant was TARC - the Transit Authority of River City.
The original mule-drawn trolley in Union Station was built in 1865. It was in use until 1901. Today, it is one of the original mule-drawn trolleys left in the United States.
An overall view of Union Station, Louisville, Kentucky, taken circa-1920.
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