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Sunday, July 26, 2015

Northwest Railroad Depots: Union Station in Portland, Oregon

I originally posted this information on my old website on March 26, 2009, and last updated it on December 18, 2009.

IMG_8462 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on August 19, 2007
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.

IMG_6667 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007

An early design would have been the largest railroad station in the world.

IMG_6984 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
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.

IMG_0112 Union Station Yards & Switch Tower, Pre-1914
Union Station Yards & Switch Tower, Pre-1914
University of Oregon #P2654

The station was built by the Northern Pacific Terminal Co., beginning in 1890.

IMG_0114 Main Entrance of Union Station, Circa 1915
Main Entrance of Union Station, Circa 1915
Oregon Historical Society #17468

It opened as Grand Central Station on February 14, 1896.

IMG_6985 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007

As other railroads started using it, it became known as Union Station.

IMG_6986 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
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.

IMG_0110 Front View of Union Station, Date Unknown
Front View of Union Station, Date Unknown
Wesley Andrews Collection, Oregon Historical Society #OH17263

IMG_6668 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
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.

IMG_6981 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 10, 2007
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.

IMG_9762 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009

IMG_9763 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009

IMG_9764 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009

IMG_9765 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on October 20, 2009

IMG_9768 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)

IMG_8650 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on August 19, 2007
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.

IMG_6319 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on June 7, 2009
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.

IMG_6669 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
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.

IMG_6670 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007

The south wing retains more of the station's original Victorian Renaissance Revival architecture.

IMG_6671 Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 27, 2007

Historical Photo:
News Stand (now Ticket Counter) (shastaroute.railfan.net/)

IMG_0770 Non-Functional Clock inside Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
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.

IMG_0773 Clock inside Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
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.

IMG_0767 Neon Sign inside Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008

IMG_0769 Neon Signs inside 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.

IMG_0771 Neon Signs inside Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
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.

IMG_0728 Platforms at Union Station in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2008
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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