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Union Station

The Union Station of Washington DC is one of AMTRAK’s busiest stations in its line. The station is also full of interesting past and it has stood witness to many important events in US history.

Union Station

Union Station first opened in 1907 as a station for use by both the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. It is now Amtrak’s headquarters and their second-busiest railway station. Over 5 million travelers use this station per year; the rest of its 40 million visitors per year are shoppers and sightseers.

Its fame, antiquity, and the significant portion of it that was converted into a large shopping mall in 1988 make Union Station an attractive location for many tourists, visitors, and travelers. Union Station is not only an important transportation hub, but it is also in many ways a historical and cultural hub. The mall area has a large number of restaurants and shops, as well as facilities that are frequently used to host interesting events and exhibitions.

 

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Union Station

Interesting Facts

  • During World War II–when Union Station received the most traffic–as many as 20,000 travelers would depart from or arrive at the station in a single day.
  • For a while, there was a mortuary on the property.
  • Originally, there was a presidential suite, which was first used by President Taft and subsequently accommodated other presidents and nobility. Later it was later turned into a restaurant.
  • At the time of its completion, the property covered more ground than any other building in the U.S.
  • The station’s ceiling contains 22-karat gold leaf, worth a sizable portion of the $125 million that went into building the station.