Union Station (Columbus, Ohio)

Former railway station in Ohio, United States

Columbus Union Station was an intercity train station in Downtown Columbus, Ohio, near The Short North neighborhood. The station and its predecessors served railroad passengers in Columbus from 1851 until April 28, 1977. The first station building was the first union station in the world, built in 1851. Its replacement was built from 1873 to 1875, just before demolition of the first station building. After traffic problems on High Street, as well as increased rail traffic became problematic, a new station was planned by Daniel Burnham beginning in 1893. The new station opened in 1897, and its arcade along High Street was finished in 1899. By 1928, part of the arcade was demolished. Passenger service significantly declined from the 1950s to the 1970s. The arcade was demolished in 1976 to make way for a new convention center, although it had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places two years prior. Train service stopped at Union Station in 1977, and the remaining portions of the station were demolished in 1979. The demolished arcade was delisted in 1999. A portion of the arcade was saved, the Union Station arch, which is the focal point of the McFerson Commons park in the nearby Arena District.

Union Station was designed by Daniel Burnham. He was noted at the time as one of the primary architects of the World's Columbian Exposition, which utilized Beaux Arts designs to resemble a prototype for an ideal city, ushering in the City Beautiful movement. In 1853, the Central Ohio and Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroads entered the city and connected to the station. In 1864, the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad was connected the Central Ohio at Newark, and entered the station on shared tracks. This road was called the "panhandle route" because it crossed the panhandle of West Virginia on its way east. The station was inadequate and in 1868 the railroads formed the Union Depot Company to undertake a replacement.

In May 1873, work was begun on the second union station north of the existing station, and it opened on February 14, 1875. The first station was then demolished. Compared to its wooden predecessor, this new station was far more substantial. Constructed of brick, it had a large waiting room, ticket offices and railroad offices at the front of the structure. Seven tracks entered the structure and a long train shed kept passengers dry. In 1875, 42 daily passenger trains departed from the station.

The City of Columbus continued to grow northward with the opening of Ohio State University in 1870. With the opening of the new union station, thirteen tracks now crossed North High Street. The congestion between train and road traffic became unbearable. In 1875, a $45,000 tunnel was built under the tracks to allow streetcars and horsecars to pass under the tracks. An extra mule was stationed at the tunnel entrance to assist horsecars up the steep grade. The tunnel was 150 feet (46 m) long with 550 feet (168 m) approaches on either side. It was so dark and smelly that only the horsecar passengers, who had no other choice, would use it.

In 1891 the traffic situation on High Street reached a crisis, with the roadway blocked for up to seven hours per day by crossing trains. As well, the Columbus Board of Trade (the city's chamber of commerce) rallied for support of a modern and grand station to fit their view of the city. In April 1931, the train shed was replaced with an enclosed concourse. In 1956, Columbus was down to 42 daily passenger trains, the lowest number since 1875. Daily passenger trains fell to 21 in 1962, and just 10 in 1970. It was clear that the completion of the interstates and popularity of automobiles would soon mean the end of passenger rail service in Columbus. On May 1, 1971, Amtrak took over most of what was left of passenger service in the United States. On January 17, 1974, the station's arcade was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, noted in emergency as plans existed to demolish the structure. Battelle Commons Corporation applied for grants to create a transit center as part of the convention center, including from the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA) and Federal Highway Administration. The transit center project was supported by the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA), Columbus's mass transit agency. By 6 pm on the next day, a temporary restraining order secured by the Ohio Historical Society halted the demolition. The order noted that improper procedures were followed in planning its demolition. Battelle then allowed the historical society 120 days to remove the remaining remnant of the demolition, a single arch left standing; Battelle offered no funds to help preserve or move the arch. COTA's director still expressed his desire for TransCenter to be built, despite the arcade's loss. Battelle published development plans with the arcade removed as soon as October 24. The arcade's demolition prompted the UMTA to withdraw all $6.24 million in funding, stating the act violated the spirit of the law and was inconsistent with UMTA requirements.

Views from c. 1975:

In July 2021 the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority contracted with LMN Architects and HNTB Engineering to conduct a site assessment and programming study of three possible Amtrak station locations at or near the Greater Columbus Convention Center. On Greater Columbus Passenger Rail Station Study, which was released in early January 2022, details a plan for the construction of a new downtown two level station near the intersection of High Street and Nationwide Boulevard. The proposed single platform / single track station could be built at a cost of $23 million.