National Register of Historic Places

Union Station

Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
Listed
February 1, 1972
Type
Building
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
72000719

About this property

Kansas City Union Station (station code: KCY) is a union station that opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot built in 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of more than 670,000 passengers in 1945 at the end of World War II, but traffic quickly declined in the 1950s, and the station was closed in 1985. In 1996, a public–private partnership undertook a $250 million restoration, funded in part by a sales tax levied in Kansas and Missouri counties of the Kansas City metropolitan area. By 1999, the station had reopened as a suite of attractions, including museums. In 2002, train service returned when Amtrak began public transportation services, and the station became Missouri's second-busiest train station. The refurbished station has theaters, ongoing museum exhibits, and attractions such as Science City, the Irish Museum and Cultural Center, and the Todd Bolender Center for Dance and Creativity. Since 2016, it has been a stop for the KC Streetcar.

Location

Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri
39.08517, -94.58552

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTTRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Everything a full report reveals about Union Station

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Overview
An interactive map of the location with historic sites, battles and Native heritage plotted, and its full story era by era.
The Land
The historic sites and place names around the location, and how this land was settled and used.
Geology
The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back millions of years.
LiDAR Terrain
Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks and old features hidden in the landscape.
Conflict & War
The battles, raids and skirmishes fought near here, across every era of American conflict.
The Civil War
The Civil War on this ground, 1861 to 1865: who held it, and the battles, camps and regiments nearby.
The Soldiers
The men who marched from here in the Civil War, named and traced where the record allows.
Native Heritage
The Native nations who held this land, mapped across time from before European contact to today.
Settlement
Who claimed and held this ground, from Indigenous homelands through the colonial powers to the United States.
The Community
How the town grew, who came, and what kind of place it became, traced through the census record.
Rivers & Rail
The rivers, canals and railroads that connected this place between 1830 and 1911.
Notable People
The people born, buried or genuinely tied to this exact place, with their stories.
Historical Maps
Historic maps of the location layered over how it looks today.
Finds & Access
Museum objects tied to the area, and the laws on searching, collecting and access here.
Literature
The old books, county histories and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.
Spotlight
A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.
Points of Interest
The most significant historic sites and landmarks near the location, and why they matter.
Timeline
The whole story of the location told era by era, from first peoples to the present day.
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Nearby Historic Sites

United States Post Office-Kansas City
Industrial
0.1 mi
Sweeney Automobile and Tractor School
Industrial
0.1 mi
Union Station (Boundary Increase)
Civil War
0.2 mi
Kellogg-Mackay Company Buildings
Industrial
0.2 mi
Columbia Building
Industrial
0.3 mi

Nearby Battles

Kansas City Skirmish 1861
1861Civil War
1.1 mi
Price's Raid — Battle of Westport
1864Civil War
2.4 mi
Battle of Byram's Ford
1864Civil War
3.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Union Station listed on the National Register?

Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 1, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Union Station?

Union Station is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Union Station?

The period of significance for Union Station is recorded as the civil_war era.

Can I research the history near Union Station?

Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Union Station will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.

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