I originally posted this information on my old website on March 26, 2009, and last updated it on December 18, 2009.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on August 19, 2007
Portland Union Station was conceived in the mid-1880s by Henry Villard, president of the Northern Pacific Railway when it reached Portland in 1883.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
An early design would have been the largest railroad station in the world.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
This more modest Richardsonian Romanesque proposal was designed by the Boston/Kansas City architectural firm of Van Brunt & Howe.
Union Station Yards & Switch Tower, Pre-1914
University of Oregon #P2654
The station was built by the Northern Pacific Terminal Co., beginning in 1890.
Main Entrance of Union Station, Circa 1915
Oregon Historical Society #17468
It opened as Grand Central Station on February 14, 1896.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
As other railroads started using it, it became known as Union Station.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
In the 1920s, the depot served five railroads and over 120 arrivals and departures a day.
Front View of Union Station, Date Unknown
Wesley Andrews Collection, Oregon Historical Society #OH17263
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
The 150-foot tower's Seth Thomas clock, made in Thomaston, Connecticut in 1895, features 14 foot diameter opalescent glass faces with bronze hands, a 14 foot pendulum and 1,000 pounds of counterweight that drops almost 50 feet over 7 days.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
The neon "UNION STATION GO BY TRAIN" signs, added in 1948 & turned off in 1971; were restored in 1985 by the efforts Rich Carlson.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Historical Photos:
Union Station (Oregon Historical Society)
Union Station, circa 1910 (University of Washington Library)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (Multnomah County Genweb)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (Multnomah County Genweb)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (Multnomah County Genweb)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (Multnomah County Genweb)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Postcard View of Union Station (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Union Station, June 27, 1962 (Salem Public Library)
NP train at Union Station, 8/2/1966 (RRPictureArchives.net)
SP&S train at Union Station, June 1968 (RRPictureArchives.net)
BN Locomotive at Union Station, 8/4/71 (RRPictureArchives.net)
Passenger Train at Union Station, 8/4/71 (RRPictureArchives.net)
SP freight train at Union Station, 8/4/71 (RRPictureArchives.net)
Amtrak train at Union Station, July 1974 (Amtrak Photo Archive)
Amtrak train at Union Station, 7/7/81 (RRPictureArchives.net)
SP freight train at Union Station, 1980s (RRPictureArchives.net)
Amtrak train at Union Station, 12/3/90 (RRPictureArchives.net)
Daylight #4449 at Union Station, 4/28/1991 (RailPictures.Net)
SP freight train at Union Station, 6/20/93 (RRPictureArchives.net)
Daylight #4449 at Union Station, June 8, 1998 (RailPictures.Net)
Amtrak train at Union Station, December 1999 (RailPictures.Net)
Amtrak train at Union Station, 4/24/2004 (RRPictureArchives.net)
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on August 19, 2007
Union Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Union Station is the oldest major railroad passenger terminal on the West Coast and is one of the oldest continuously operating railroad passenger stations in the United States. It has been owned by the Portland Development Commission since 1987.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 7, 2009
Though passenger train service has decreased dramatically since Union Station's heyday, there are still a number of trains arriving and departing from Union Station throughout the day. Union Station is served by Amtrak's Coast Starlight, Empire Builder and Cascades service.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
The main concourse was renovated in the 1930s by Pietro Belluschi. The walls and floor are covered with travertine marble, giving the waiting area an Art Deco look.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
The south wing retains more of the station's original Victorian Renaissance Revival architecture.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
Historical Photo:
News Stand (now Ticket Counter) (shastaroute.railfan.net/)
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
Part of the 1930s renovation of the waiting room included a built-in clock in the wall at each end.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
The clock above the ticket counter at the west end is no longer functional and has lost its hands, but the one above the doors to the platform still tells the time. By May 2009, both clocks were again functional.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
The main waiting room features neon directional signs that may have been installed when the interior was renovated, but more likely were added in 1948 with the neon signs on the clock tower.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
The sign for Amtrak's Metropolitan Lounge for sleeping car passengers is a more recent addition.
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
The shelters over the passenger platforms were built in 1904. They were saved from demolition in 1990.
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