Grand Plaza, Union Station

For decades, Union Station’s Grand Plaza was the first and last glimpse of Kansas City travelers saw as they arrived and departed by train. This earned the sprawling room, and the station as a whole, the title of “Kansas City’s Front Porch.” Following the restoration of Union Station, the Grand Plaza has become one of the most sought-after event spaces in town. 

Before automobiles and air travel were easily accessible by the average American, railroads were the vital routes through which people moved across the country. After the east and west coasts were connected by rail, Kansas City became a hub for both passenger and freight service. Union Station was constructed as an aspirational monument to represent Kansas City to these travelers, and no portion of the building bore more witness to the rise and fall of its fortunes than the Grand Plaza.

At the height of rail travel in the United States, Union Station handled 72,000 trains annually with a high-water mark of x in 19xx. During this time, Union Station’s Grand Plaza was as busy as any of our modern airports with a dozen different rail lines delivering people to points all across the country. Soldiers going to two world wars traveled from Union Station to be deployed overseas.  

After World War II, productive war-time manufacturing provided innovation in automobiles and air travel, including massive efforts to develop the interstate system. These factors contributed to the decline of rail travel and eventually led to the last passenger train leaving Union Station in 1985 before its current, renovated incarnation. Still, standing in the majesty of the Grand Hall is a humbling experience that makes imagining a different time quite easy. 

A Brief History of Rail Roads in Kansas City, UnionStation.org. Accessed August 20th, 2024. https://unionstation.org/2024/05/06/rail-roads-in-kansas-city/.

Spivak, Jeffrey. Union Station, Kansas City. Kansas City, MO. Kansas City Star Books, 1999.