Admission is free. There is an hourly parking fee.
THIS MUSEUM NO LONGER EXISTS.
THIS MUSEUM NO LONGER EXISTS.
This museum is located on the upper level of the Train Shed behind the terminal hotel for Union Station.
The museum includes memorabilia of Union Station, train travel, and the Station's role in St. Louis history.
When the Station opened on September 1, 1894, it was the largest terminal in the USA. A model of the station is on display in the museum.
The highlighted history of the Station includes information about it's architect, Theodore Link.
Other history displays include several about the different trains that have pulled into the terminal.
The famous picture of Harry Truman holding the newspaper proclaiming Dewey as President of the U.S. was taken on Track 34 at Union Station.
A tribute is paid to the many soldiers who went through Union Station including over two million each month during World War II.
The Museum was developed in cooperation with the Museum of Transportation located in St. Louis County. Many items displayed are on loan from the museum as well as other individuals or institutions.
When touring the museum one, of course, should take time to tour the Station itself.
The last train pulled out of Union Station on October 31, 1978. In August 1985, after a $150 million restoration the Station reopened full of stores and eating establishments. Unfortunately today, all but a handful of establishments remain open and the area under the Train Shed is virtually empty of people.
Fortunately in 2012 the the station was purchased and $30 million of renovations were done to the hotel portion. Many original items remain including the Allegorical Window, built in 1894, and thought to represent the expanse of travel from one coast to the other with St. Louis in the middle.
Surrounding this window is the Whispering Arch. If one stands facing the wall of the right side while another facing the wall on the left side, you can still speak to each other even though 40 feet apart and using a normal voice.
The Grand Hall with a 65 foot high ceiling was the main waiting room for the Station. Today it serves as the lounge for the hotel and features beautiful and fascinating laser light shows on the ceiling in the evenings and anytime on request.
There are two restaurants in the hotel. We ate at the Station Grille.
Before the meal was served wonderful chips were placed on the table.
The museum has from prior days at Union Station many artifacts including dishes, lanterns, and time schedules.
Even an old adding machine from early days is on display.
More miscellaneous artifacts.
There are several outfits on display including those of a Pullman Porter.
Imagine wearing this as a working waitress!
No train-related museum is complete without a model train display. Unfortunately this one included no working trains.
There was a display of several vintage streamlined toys.
One of the more interesting displays was this live-steam locomotive model that was completed in 1862 and is now owned by Union Station. It is over 7 feet long.
The menu included salads, sandwiches, soups, burgers, and other items.
Comments: This ended up being a interesting experience in that we learned when we arrived that part (perhaps half) of the museum had been dismantled and before we left we learned that the museum is closing. Apparently all of the remaining businesses - except the hotel - will be closed by January 31. It is our understanding that this includes the museum. There are several plans in the making but apparently no definite decision has been made as to what will happen to the Station next. Hotel employees told us that the hotel - a Doubletree - will be expanding into the upper level of the train shed.
We were glad that we had this one last nostalgic walk through Union Station. It was fun to be reminded of its great history in the small but nice museum.
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