Union Station – Train Shed Transformed

For this post, I’m continuing with our visit to St. Louis Union Station and its transformation/re purposing for the twenty-first century.  This time it’s all about the train shed portion of the old depot.

First of all, let me say that trains are not totally gone from this complex…

The old Union Station train shed still has a track that leads into the shed and it is used occasionally for ‘special trains’.  In this case, it was for St. Louis’ Christmas Polar Express experience.  Trains were scheduled to operate daily from November 29 through December 30.  It was just nice to actually see a train in the train shed!

A little research revealed that the Silver Chalet is a former “California Zephyr” car of the same name.  It and 3 other rail cars, Silver Lodge, Silver Shore and Silver Express, are owned by Quad/Graphics, a giant printing and graphics firm based in Wisconsin. ($4 Billion + annual sales) The stainless steel Silver Chalet was built in 1948.  Although all 4 rail cars serve as a stationary meeting place for the firm, the cars do make trips periodically…this holiday train being one example.

The above picture shows the track layout in and around Union Station at its operating peak.  Right below the Depot itself and covering 11.5 acres, the tran shed it is the largest Victorian-engineered single-span structure of its type that was ever built.  It towers 140 high and with 32 tracks, it once boasted the greatest number of train tracks for a depot in the USA.  In 1970, it was designated as a National Historic Landmark.  All train operations ceased on 10/31/1978.

So what to do to maximize this valuable space in downtown St. Louis Missouri?

The complex has gone through at least 2 iterations in an attempt to both preserve the facility and to attract visitors to the site.  The first attempt, which we visited many years ago, was a shopping and dining complex.  When its popularity waned, changes were initiated in order to reinvent the train shed portion of this site.

Sorry for the cloudy day!  This giant Ferris wheel on one side of the old train shed is one new attraction.  This 200 foot tall wheel opened in September of 2019.  At night it lights up with 1.6 million LED lights.  Its 42 climate controlled gondolas can accommodate up to 8 passengers.  Rides cost $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children and they last about 15 minutes.  The St. Louis Wheel operates year around.  You can learn more about this attraction at https://www.thestlouiswheel.com/#about.

Of course we had to take a turn on the Ferris wheel!  This is a view we had as we circled around through the sky… The downtown St. Louis skyline is almost always viewed with the 630 foot tall Gateway Arch prominently featured.  It’s usually pictured from the Illinois side of the Mississippi River so this is a different perspective.  Sunshine would have been nice...

The Gateway Arch is the world’s tallest arch and it’s the tallest man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere.  It was built to commemorate the westward expansion of the USA.  The arch and surrounding property was known as the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial until February of 2018 when it became the Gateway Arch National Park.  In 2018, over 2 million visitors came to the park!

This is a view from the St. Louis Ferris wheel looking down on the old train shed.  The rail terminal opened in 1894 and about 400 trains per day ran on the depots 32 tracks.  It was the largest passenger train station in the world.  I have a hard time imagining 400 steam locomotives coming and going in a single day.  It had to be an amazing sight at the time!

One of the reasons that Union Station was so busy is that it was designed as a ‘dead-end’ station.  It was a pit stop for all trains coming in from either coast.  Passengers had to switch trains once they arrived at this station if they intended to continue on their journey.  During World War II, 2 million soldiers stopped at Union Station every month!  By 1978, the station only ran about 6 trains a day on 2 tracks…

During our pre-Thanksgiving visit it was cold and rainy…and not much was going on in the train shed.  This Budweiser area was closed and there wasn’t much foot traffic.

Another new attraction in the old train shed is this 36 foot wide classic merry-go-round.  It features 30 animals and 2 themed chariots.  It was manufactured by Chance Rides of Wichita Kansas.  It will be open from 10 AM until 10 PM and rides are $5.00.

Other attractions in this complex include an 18-hole mini-golf course, a mirror-maze, a Ropes Course that includes a rigid zip-line and the brand new St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station.  Prices vary for all of these attractions but the best deal can be found on-line.  

This was our view of the Ropes Course and zip line looking up.  You can’t really tell but it was fairly busy…

To learn more about all of the Union Station entertainment complex, attractions just go to https://www.stlouisunionstation.com/about.

Here are our obligatory photos in the train shed.  The first one is of Laurie’s sister Bonnie, yours truly and Bonnie’s husband Bill.  In the second photo, Laurie replaced me…

FYI, the second photo was taken in front of the Union Station Soda Fountain.  It occupies the space formerly occupied by the Hard Rock Café.  This new dining venue is focused on sweet treats including ice cream creations and candy, but it also offers a basic American grill menu plus wine and beer for adults.  To check out their menu, just go to http://www.sodafountain-stl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/28589_Soda-Fountain-Menu.pdf.

Another structure that you can’t miss in the front of the train shed is this big pond with koi to feed and the expanded/new portion of the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, a Hilton property.

Back at the turn of the twentieth century at the peak of American railroading, Fred Harvey opened one of his famous dining establishments in the St. Louis Union Station.  His restaurants were famous for friendly service and good food at reasonable prices.  This was in contrast to many others who took advantage of hungry passengers on stop-overs.  A movie was even made about the waitresses… “The Harvey Girls” featuring Judy Garland in the title role, was first screened in 1946.

Well, Fred Harvey’s restaurants are long gone…just like the trains.  Today’s Union Depot complex now features several dining establishments.  In addition to The Soda Fountain, the bar in the Grand Hall of the hotel features small plates with cocktails; the Train Shed offers some fine dining; the 1894 Café is family friendly; and the Station Grille now occupies the former space where Fred Harvey’s was located.  We opted for a mid-day ‘snack’ at the sixth dining option…Landry’s Seafood House out by that big pond.

It was mid-afternoon so there weren’t many diners in Landry’s during our visit.  The setting is nice and the décor is warm and relaxing with lots of subtle colors mixed in with brick, wood and white table cloths in the dining room.  We opted for the bar…

After ordering a couple of adult beverages from Landry’s extensive cocktail, wine and beer menu, we decided on a couple of appetizers.  This was our order of tempura fried Firecracker Shrimp with a creamy sweet chili glaze. ($10.90) It was good but not the best version we’ve had for this starter.  Presentation needed a little help...

FYI…Beer prices ranged from $4.50 to $5.50, wine from $6.00 to $12.00 per glass and their listed cocktails go from $9.00 to $12.00.

Our other appetizer was this New Orleans Crawfish Bread featuring crawfish tails, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, garlic and Louisiana spices. ($11.90) It was very good indeed!  Again, presentation fell short...

Bill is a seafood lover and given the opportunity, his resistance against indulging in a special treat is pretty close to nil.  He pretty much skipped our other appetizers and instead went for Landry’s Etouffee with crawfish and white rice. ($19.90) I can report that he cleaned his plate and declared it as a fine repast…

Given our adult beverages and snacks, Landry’s was a pricy mid-day break but it was very good.  What the heck…you only live once!  To learn more, go to https://www.landrysseafood.com/location-st-louis.asp.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave