Union Station (Wichita, Kansas)

Union Station is a former railway station in Wichita, Kansas. Since the end of passenger rail service to the city in 1979, it has been repurposed as commercial office space.[1][2]

Wichita Union Station
Union Station terminal building (2009)
General information
Location701 East Douglas Avenue
Wichita, Kansas
Coordinates37°41′08″N 97°19′46″W
Owned byOccidental Management
Other information
StatusRepurposed as commercial office space
History
Opened1914
Closed1979
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Arkansas City
toward Dallas or Houston
 Lone Star Newton
toward Chicago
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Valley Center
toward Newton
 Newton–Purcell Derby
toward Purcell
Prospect
toward Belen
 Main Line Belen Cutoff Terminus
Prospect
toward San Angelo
 San Angelo – Wichita
Prospect
toward Englewood
 Englewood–Wichita
Tyler
toward Pratt
 Pratt–Wichita
Preceding station St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Following station
North Wichita
toward Ellsworth
 Ellsworth – Monett Minneha
toward Monett
Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station
Haysville
toward Teague
 Teague – Minneapolis  Kechi
toward Minneapolis

History
The Santa Fe Chicagoean at the station in 1967

The station opened in 1914.[3] Through the 1930s, it served as the city's primary arrival and departure point. Railroads including the Frisco, Santa Fe, and Rock Island offered passenger service to and from cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and St. Louis.[4]

The station closed in 1979 when Amtrak discontinued its Lone Star (Chicago–Houston) line, ending passenger rail access to the city.[1] The nearest inter-city station is in Newton, 25 miles north, which is served by the Southwest Chief (Chicago–Los Angeles).

The station terminal and nearby buildings have since been redeveloped as a commercial office and retail campus. Cox Communications used the station as its local headquarters until 2007. In 2013, local commercial real estate company Occidental Management purchased Union Station and began renovations.[4] As of 2017, renovations continue while Occidental has resumed leasing commercial space in the neighboring buildings.[2][5]

The building's restoration was estimated at $54 million.[6] Phase Two included the addition of 150,000 square feet of retail, restaurant and office space on the property's south side.

In recent years, several proposals have been made to bring back Amtrak service back to Wichita. This has predominantly surrounded the plan to extend the Heartland Flyer, which currently runs between Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and Fort Worth, Texas, north to Newton, Kansas. In June 2021, Amtrak released a plan that would add two more round trips between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth while extending the original round trip to Newton. A timeline for the service has not been determined.[7]

References
  1. "Thruway Bus Connection ties two Amtrak routes together through Wichita". Amtrak. 2016-04-18. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  2. "Union Station Renovation". Wichita Downtown Development Corporation. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  3. "Union Station served rail passengers from 1914-1979". The Wichita Eagle. February 9, 2012. Archived from the original on October 20, 2018.
  4. Sandefur, Sean (2014-05-02). "Wichita's Union Station Celebrates Centennial With New Ownership, New Future". KMUW. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  5. "Historic Union Station". Occidental Management. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  6. "08 International Terminal, Houston", Modern Construction Case Studies, Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter, pp. 150–163, 2019-06-17, doi:10.1515/9783035617795-016, ISBN 978-3-0356-1779-5, S2CID 242844873, retrieved 2020-08-21
  7. "Heartland Flyer Extension". storymaps.arcgis.com. Amtrak Connect Us. September 17, 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.

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