When Union Station opened in 1914 it was the second-largest train station in the United States. The Beaux-Arts building — grand hall, coffered ceiling, massive clock — fell into disuse as rail travel declined and stood nearly derelict for decades before a major restoration in 1999. Today it houses Science City (a hands-on science museum popular with families), exhibition spaces that host major travelling shows, and several restaurants. Worth a visit for the architecture alone: stand in the main hall and look up.
Union Station
Restored Beaux-Arts station housing Science City and a notorious crime history.
| Address | 30 W Pershing Rd, Kansas City, MO 64108 |
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A story
In June 1933, FBI agent Raymond Caffrey and three police officers were shot dead in the station's parking lot by Pretty Boy Floyd and associates attempting to free a federal prisoner. The Union Station Massacre prompted Congress to pass a raft of new federal crime legislation.