Thursday, December 10, 2015

A Handful of Memories from Union Station

Union Station in Denver recently opened after a three-year renovation project costing $500 million.  The new transportation hub is designed not only to be a center for travelers, but a gathering place for the neighborhood, with shops, a hotel, and restaurants.  The hub currently serves about 15,000 users a day, with that total expected to rise to 200,000 by 2030.

The new facility is impressive, and much of the old facade was retained, keeping a piece of the tradition of the station that's been in place since 1881.  Congratulations are in order to the design and working team for being able to mix the old and new.  Here are a couple of samples of what it used to look like inside:
A Wall Sconce Keeps Watch over the Public Space
A Wall Sconce Keeps Watch over the Public Space.  All of these fixtures are gone now.

The Cavernous Public Space in Union Station (Now home to shops and a common area)
The Cavernous Public Space in Union Station (Now home to shops and a common area)


Inevitably though, many things had to go.  Not least among them was the underground tunnel system that train passengers had used for a hundred years to get to the various lines without having to cross over live tracks.  Here's a view of the tunnels that I have reproduced as a one-of-a-kind aluminum print for a collector in Castle Rock:

Union Station Tunnel, Showing Tracks 2 through 8
Union Station Tunnel, Showing Tracks 2 through 8
Here are a couple more views, looking in the opposite direction:

Tunnel, Looking Toward Street Level
Tunnel, Looking Toward Street Level

Mural in Tunnel, Showing Snow Removal Train on Trestle
Mural in Tunnel, Showing Snow Removal Train on Trestle
The subway tile, deco fixtures and hand-painted mural aren't really in the style that would have been in keeping with the modernization of the building, and there wasn't enough room anyway for the new bus concourse.  Here's how the concourse, in the same space as the train tunnels, looks just before opening:

Bus Concourse (Image courtesy CBS)

If you think this looks like the airport, you're not alone.  People demand space, maneuverability, and convenience.  They don't want to be too distracted by interesting details, or historical items they may have to read to understand.  The new concourse is wonderfully utilitarian, and will be useful for far more than the old tunnel system.

But something of value was still lost.

And more than that was lost as well.  The basement used to house two giant model train layouts, the more interesting of which was built on the site of the old jail underneath the station.  After thirty-plus years of adjustment, building and maintenance, the Platte Valley & Western Model Railroad club had to move out.  Here are two of several hundred pictures I took of the HO scale layout just before dismantling:

Train Layout Detail - Vista Car in Yard
Train Layout Detail - Vista Car in Yard

Train Layout - Diesel Passes Under Trestle
Train Layout - Diesel Passes Under Trestle
I'll be contacting the current stewards of the layout, in hopes of working with them in their new space at White Fence Farms.  I'm hopeful that a collection of these photographs will be available for perusal at White Fence Farms.

Movement is inevitable.  It isn't always progress when that movement occurs, but if we can salvage some of the old in our ceaseless quest for the new, then we have to accept that we've made real progress.

All images copyright Craig Patterson, except where otherwise noted.  All rights reserved.  please contact me if you wish to use these photographs for any purpose whatsoever.

No comments:

Post a Comment