Dallas Union Station

Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station
Dallas, TX
General information
Other names
  • Dallas Union Station
  • EBJ Union Station
Location400 South Houston Street
Dallas, Texas
United States
Coordinates32°46′34″N 96°48′27″W / 32.77611°N 96.80750°W / 32.77611; -96.80750
Owned byCity of Dallas
Line(s)Dallas/UP
Platforms1 side and 2 island platforms
Tracks5 + 2 through tracks
Train operatorsAmtrak, TRE and DART light rail
ConnectionsDallas Streetcar Dallas Streetcar
Bus transport DART: 9, 45, 47, 214, 224, 306, 378, 383
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parking20 long-term and 20 short-term spaces
AccessibleYes
ArchitectJarvis Hunt
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: DAL
Fare zoneTRE Eastern
History
OpenedOctober 14, 1916 (1916-10-14)
Rebuilt1996, 2010
Previous namesDallas Union Terminal
Passengers
FY 202349,196[1] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Fort Worth Texas Eagle Mineola
toward Chicago
Preceding station Trinity Railway Express Following station
Victory Trinity Railway Express Terminus
Preceding station Dallas Area Rapid Transit Following station
Convention Center
toward UNT Dallas
Blue Line West End
Convention Center Red Line West End
Terminus Dallas Streetcar Greenbriar
Proposed services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Fort Worth
Terminus
Crescent
Proposed Texas Section
Mineola
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Fort Worth
toward Laredo or Houston
Inter-American Longview
toward Chicago
Corsicana
toward Houston
Texas Eagle
Until 1995
Mineola
toward Chicago
Fort Worth
toward Houston
Lone Star
1975–1979
Cleburne
toward Chicago
Preceding station Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Following station
Fort Worth
toward San Angelo
San Angelo – Dallas Terminus
Duncanville
toward Cleburne
CleburneParis Reinhardt
toward Paris
Preceding station Burlington Route Following station
Fort Worth
toward Denver
Denver – Teague Waxahachie
toward Teague
Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station
Waxahachie
toward Teague
TeagueMinneapolis  Irving
Preceding station Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad Following station
Waxahachie
toward Galveston
Main Line
via Dallas
Highland Park
toward St. Louis
Roselawn
toward Denton
Dallas and Denton Terminus
Preceding station Missouri Pacific Railroad Following station
Fort Worth
toward El Paso
Texas and Pacific Railway Main Line Terrell
Preceding station St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Following station
Irving
Terminus
Dallas Branch Terminus
Preceding station St. Louis Southwestern Railway Following station
Terminus Main Line Addison
toward St. Louis
Addison
toward Fort Worth
Fort Worth local Terminus
Dallas Union Terminal
Dallas Union Station is located in Texas
Dallas Union Station
Dallas Union Station
Dallas Union Station is located in the United States
Dallas Union Station
Dallas Union Station
Map
Area5 acres (2.0 ha)
NRHP reference No.75001966[2]
TSAL No.8200000214
RTHL No.6908
DLMK No.H/5
Significant dates
Added to NRHPMay 29, 1975
Designated TSALJanuary 1, 1981
Designated RTHL1979
Designated DLMKJanuary 17, 1977[3]

Dallas Union Station, officially Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station (or simply EBJ Union Station), also known as Dallas Union Terminal, is a large intermodal railroad station in Dallas, Texas. It is the third busiest Amtrak station in Texas, behind Fort Worth Central Station and San Antonio station.[4] It serves DART light rail Blue and Red lines, Trinity Railway Express commuter rail and Amtrak inter-city rail. It is located on Houston Street, between Wood and Young Streets, in the Reunion district of Downtown Dallas. The structure is a Dallas Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Services

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Texas Eagle #421 in Dallas Union Station led by Amtrak P42DC #69
Looking across tracks and platforms

The station is served by Amtrak's Texas Eagle with Chicago as the eastern terminus and either San Antonio or Los Angeles as the western terminus and later by proposed Crescent (train). The light rail station serves as a stop on the Red and Blue lines as well as the TRE. Union Station is the northern terminus of the Dallas Streetcar and provides access to the Greyhound bus terminal, the George Allen Courts Building, Dealey Plaza, the Hyatt Regency Dallas at Reunion and Reunion Tower.[5]

The first floor is occupied by an Amtrak ticketing window, a waiting room, and privately rented offices. The second floor contains the restored Grand Hall and several meeting rooms named after railroads that previously serviced Dallas. The second floor and a mezzanine are operated by Wolfgang Puck Catering.[6]

History

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The Union Terminal Company constructed the Dallas Union Terminal, as Union Station was originally called, in 1916 to consolidate five rail stations scattered around Dallas into one, making Dallas a major transportation center in the Southern United States. At the peak of its usage, as many as 80 trains stopped each day at the station.[7] It was designed by Jarvis Hunt, who designed other large train stations. Railroads served by the station included Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway ('Santa Fe'), St. Louis Southwestern Railway ('Cotton Belt'), Fort Worth & Denver Railway, Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad ('Rock Island'), Burlington-Rock Island Railroad, St. Louis and San Francisco Railway ('Frisco'), Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad ('Katy'), Southern Pacific Railroad and Texas & Pacific Railway.[8]

In 1954, the building served as a temporary library while the Dallas Public Library system built a new central library to replace the original Carnegie Library.[9]

Originally, the 2nd level waiting room was connected to train platforms via an overhead walkway, but this design was never popular with travelers as they needed to climb a large number of stairs. Escalators were added, but the Grand Hall was finally abandoned in favor of renovated ticketing and a waiting room on the ground floor (still in use today). Also, an underground corridor replaced the overhead walkway, with ramps at each platform. Despite Dallas' status as the second most populous city of the state at the time, the Dallas Union Station was eclipsed in some regard by Fort Worth Union Station. For example, the Rock Island Railroad's Twin Star Rocket from Minneapolis terminated at Fort Worth, not at Dallas. The Santa Fe Railroad's Texas Chief from Chicago also took its route through Fort Worth, en route to Houston.[10][11]

The last passenger train to serve Union Station before the inauguration of Amtrak, the Missouri Pacific Railroad's Texas Eagle, left on May 31, 1969.[12] When it began in the spring of 1971, Amtrak initially consolidated most of its Metroplex service at Fort Worth, but planned to introduce service to Dallas once improvements were made at Union Terminal, which it considered outdated. With those improvements, Amtrak service began on March 14, 1974, with the Inter-American between St. Louis and Laredo; the train evolved into today's Texas Eagle. From 1975 to 1981, the station was also served by the Lone Star, a descendant of an old Santa Fe mainstay, the Texas Chief.

DART's light-rail service began at the station on June 14, 1996.[6] The station's upper-level waiting room was repurposed into meeting and convention space for the Hyatt Regency Dallas, which is connected via an underground walkway.

In October 2016, the Dallas City Council renamed the station to Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station in honor of U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson.[13] In April 2019, DART approved the new name and held a dedication ceremony.[14] It is mostly referred to as EBJ Union Station.[15]

Murals

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In 1934, as part of the federally sponsored Public Works of Art Project, Jerry Bywaters and Alexander Hogue were granted the first commission in Texas to create a series of 10 murals depicting events in Dallas history. They had painted them on the walls of the second-floor lobby at the old Dallas City Hall Building, located on Harwood Street between Main and Commerce Streets. In 1954, the original murals were destroyed when City Hall relocated. When the station was renovated to accommodate light rail usage, the murals were partially recreated by Phillip Lamb along the train platforms at Union Station.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Texas" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ Lee E. Holt (January 17, 1977). "Ordinance No. 15382" (PDF). City of Dallas. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Amtrak, State of Texas factsheet, Fiscal Year 2019, page 1 https://www.amtrak.com/content/dam/projects/dotcom/english/public/documents/corporate/statefactsheets/TEXAS19.pdf
  5. ^ Cantu, Blanca (2008-08-13). "DART celebrates 25 years with free doughnuts at Union Station". The Dallas Morning News.
  6. ^ a b "Union Station Website". Retrieved 22 November 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Union Station". DART.org. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
  8. ^ 'Official Guide of the Railways,' National Railway Publication Company, August 1936, Index of Stations
  9. ^ "100 Years of History". Dallas Library. Retrieved 2006-05-01.
  10. ^ "Rock Island Lines, Table 4". Official Guide of the Railways. 97 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1964.
  11. ^ "Santa Fe Lines, Tables 41, 43". Official Guide of the Railways. 97 (7). National Railway Publication Company. December 1964.
  12. ^ Rosenbaum, Joel. "Arising again like the phoenix". Cowcatcher Magazine. Vol. 14, no. July/August 2017. Ballpark Impressions, LLC. p. 37.
  13. ^ Hallman, Tristan (11 October 2016). "Dallas' Union Station to be renamed for Democratic U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  14. ^ Sarder, Sarah (10 April 2019). "DART renames downtown Union Station after Dallas Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson". Dallas Morning News. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
  15. ^ "EBJ Union Station". Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Archived from the original on 1 January 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2022.
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