Finally, From Humble Beginnings: Union Stations in America

So I am finally putting up one of my projects form last semester, a timeline for my Modern Architecture class. The assignment sounds simple enough, choose a topic that covers the time period of the class (1870-1930) and create a graphic timeline with 20 entries. Each entry must be 100-200 words long, with 5 "longer focus" entries of 300-500 words each. Sounds easy enough, right? Right? WRONG!!

This project not only required the research of 20 different train stations (my topic of choice), but required countless hours in design. Call me an overachiever, but I created 2 documents, a graphic timeline and a text timeline. But I am really excited by how well they turned out and I am awaiting comments from my professor. Hopefully she loves it as much as I do.

Here is my introduction to the project and my choice of topic:

100 Years of the Train Station as a Building Type in America

 

In his book about the history of train stations, Carroll Meeks quotes Building News,1875 in saying, “Railroad termini...are to the 19th century what monasteries and cathedrals were to the thirteenth century. They are truly the only real representative building we possess...Our metropolitan termini have been leaders of the art and spirit of our time” (Meeks, iii). Had this book been written today, it would have also compared railroad stations to the airports of the 20th century. Railroad stations are a very interesting study because they were not around before railroads were invented. Prior to 1800, there were no train stations. But as the railroad grew in importance, so did the railroad station, combining the utility of a transportation building with the form and ornamentation that dominated the decades.

In order to keep this project to a manageable size and detail level, it is limited to train stations in America, focusing on the union station building type. Not all of the entries focus on union stations, but the majority of them do. Why union stations? Because these buildings, unlike company stations, were dictated by the need for efficient passenger movement. In other words, while railroad companies each had their own standards for their stations and all buildings along their routes followed these standards, union stations were collaborations between several companies servicing a city. Therefore, the building plan and decor was a compromise between the companies. They highlight the larger design movements taking hold the world over, such as neoclassicism and the City Beautiful movement. Their decor evolved from Victorian to Romanesque to Beaux-art classicism to art deco. The plan of these structures evolved from a single room to massive complexes with spaces for waiting, boarding, and departing trains. Traffic was separated based on where it was going and by pedestrian and car traffic. These were all design features that architects in the early 19th century could have never imagined.

From 1830 to 1940, America saw the rise and end of the great railroad station. After WWII, train traffic slowed as air travel increased in popularity. Thus, in just over 100 years time, this building type began, grew, evolved, found itself, and ultimately ended. These written entries and the accompanying graphic time line attempt to do this process justice, by examining just how far the train station evolved in such a short amount of time, perhaps more than any other building type ever has. These were the gateways to our great cities. People from all over the country and all over the world entered the city through the station. They were the first impression and last impression cities left on travelers and tourists. While America did lag behind Europe, by the turn of the century, these structures were impressive. Grand Central Terminal, Kansas City Union Station, Penn Station, and others became cathedrals to travel, much as the skyscraper had become cathedrals of commerce. All that was American architecture was embodied in these buildings, and that is why the American union station is such an important part of American architecture.

Not one single element, facade treatment, layout, use of train shed, or style, dominates this time line. Rather, much like the evolution of the station type itself, it focuses on a combination of these factors, and how their combination, change, and experimentation led to the design and construction of some of the most grand stations in the world. Beginning in 1830 with a single room brick structure, the railroads began their dominance over the American landscape. From humble beginnings, the train station building type was born.

Graphic Timeline

P.S.- I welcome comments. What do you think? What should I do differently next time? Want more information? Let me know, and I'll tell you what I know, or send you to the place that knows.