Union Station

[flintysooner]

I was in First National not long ago on about 11 or 12 or something and looking south down Robinson. I think it is going to be spectacular but I wish the progress could be accelerated.

[Dustbowl]

Yes, if one goes out and drives the Core to Shore area, the whole concept is rather breathtaking. Just for fun, drive to the Myriad Gardens and head south to the river, imagining the scope of the new park. It's really impressive. I wish I could wait for the townhouses that will be built along the park, but I don't want to wait that long, and I suspect the prices on them will be out of sight.

Where is the I-40 loop going to be? Will it run right through the C2S area?

[betts]

Where is the I-40 loop going to be? Will it run right through the C2S area?

Here's a link to all the Core to Shore plans. I went to the open meeting this fall, which was very interesting. They had all the plans blown up and on easels around the room so you could view them easily. If there's another open meeting, I would highly recommend going to anyone interested.

City of Oklahoma City | Core to Shore

[Dustbowl]

Here's a link to all the Core to Shore plans. I went to the open meeting this fall, which was very interesting. They had all the plans blown up and on easels around the room so you could view them easily. If there's another open meeting, I would highly recommend going to anyone interested.

City of Oklahoma City | Core to Shore

Thanks Betts. The I-40 loop will help the area by giving it more out of town eyeballs. Sweet.

[betts]

Thanks Betts. The I-40 loop will help the area by giving it more out of town eyeballs. Sweet.

Not exactly, Dustbowl, as it will be six feet below grade, and I believe will be landscaped on either side. Maybe it will look alluring enough from down there that people will get off the exits and investigate.

[Pete]

Okay, I took the floorplan and cropped, enlarged, color-coded and labeled.

Blue: Big, grand rooms with great flooring, ceilings, etc.
Green: Outdoor space
Yellow: Secondary rooms that are somewhat sizable and unique
Orange: Smaller rooms
Pink: Rest rooms
Red: Tunnel area

I really hope they keep the main waiting room in tact and available to the general public, after taking out the newly constructed second floor platform and the offices underneath. I could see a museum exhibit on the old train station and perhaps other OKC historical memorabilia on movable panels that could be pushed to the room's edges or removed altogether for catered events. The ticket area and windows would be perfect for a bar!

I think the 'Colored Waiting Room' (good grief, it's hard to believe this sort of thing was so common place!!) would be a great cafe site, with access to the outdoor loggia where they could set up tables in the nice months for a great view across the park and of the skyline.

Room C was the old lunch counter and it's the one shown with the circular fireplace which was obviously added later. But the beamed ceilings and general feel of that room is fantastic, so perhaps that could be a gift shop or another room that could be hired out for private banquets and functions.

Rooms A & B are set up as large conference/meeting rooms and that might be a good idea for the future as well.

Another idea would be to use the old lunchroom for a cafe and include the east courtyard as well.

I have no idea what to do with the massive docks in the back which I cropped off of this plan. But they are covered in that same great stone and could easily be fixed up.

[Pete]

This is Room B as shown above and you can see the great tile (brick?) on the walls but also that they've installed a dropped acoustical ceiling at some point. Hopefully, the original ceiling has been largely untouched:

[Pete]

I totally forgot about the tower!

There is a staircase inside there, although I'm not quite sure how you access it.

But, the very top would be a great vantage spot for a view north across the park and the skyline, and south over the new I-40 to the river:

[soonerfever]

Pete, I am curious. Did you have any problems walking around on the inside? Did anyone seem to care that you were walking around taking pictures?

[Pete]

fever, there is a receptionist at the COPTA desk at the only point you get enter the building. Her demeanor was somewhere between suspicious and rude. "Who are you? What exactly do you want?" I guess they don't get many requests which is really sad if you think about it, especially since they still have the historical photos and plaques up in the interior.

She did ask someone in authority and that woman immediately said "Absolutely!" and was very friendly.

And once I was past the receptionist, nobody lifted an eyebrow.


I would encourage anyone who is interested to go by there. It's a city-owned building of great significance and if you were to see it in person, I'm sure you would be as fired up as I am about it's potential.

[edcrunk]

can anyone help me? was union ever a museum? i thought i visited it as a kid once.

[betts]

Have a look at this place called "Chijmes" in Singapore. It is a wonderful complex of restaurant and entertainment venues that were created out of a former convent. The atmosphere is unique in the world, but given the architectural heritage of union Station, I could see a similar restoration and use for OKC. It would take vision and courage, but anchoring C2S with such a location would be an automatic draw for development in the area.

First thing though.... get rid of that post-office building in front of the station!

CHIJMES

Something of a "Tavern on the Green" would be accomplished as well. I know in the C2S drawings I saw, there was a Rose Garden in front of Union Station (where the post-office now stands) and the drawing showed a wedding taking place in the Rose Garden. The comment by the presenter was "with reception to follow in Union Station", so I know there are plans to make it a venue or restaurant.

[metro]

Something of a "Tavern on the Green" would be accomplished as well. I know in the C2S drawings I saw, there was a Rose Garden in front of Union Station (where the post-office now stands) and the drawing showed a wedding taking place in the Rose Garden. The comment by the presenter was "with reception to follow in Union Station", so I know there are plans to make it a venue or restaurant.

betts, keep in mind the C2S "plans" are nothing too official. I would hope that it would be restored into an events center/ restaurant, but I wouldn't get your hopes up. The renderings are the "potential" of what C2S can offer.

[BoulderSooner]

Have a look at this place called "Chijmes" in Singapore. It is a wonderful complex of restaurant and entertainment venues that were created out of a former convent. The atmosphere is unique in the world, but given the architectural heritage of union Station, I could see a similar restoration and use for OKC. It would take vision and courage, but anchoring C2S with such a location would be an automatic draw for development in the area.

First thing though.... get rid of that post-office building in front of the station!

CHIJMES

the post office will be gone very soon ..

[Pete]

I originally started this thread because I was so impressed with the building.

This past weekend, I rode my bike down to San Diego with some of my triathlon friends and then took the train back. It was the first time I had been inside their Santa Fe Station and it's an eye-popper. It has the same Spanish style of architecture as Union Station and has been beautifully restored/preserved.

Whether or not our Union Station is used for trains or some other community purpose, this should give you an idea of how cool and significant it will be when restored:

[Pete]

Creating this new thread to consolidate posts of this fantastic structure.

Please leave discussion of it's use as a transit/rail location for the transportation forum.

[Urban Pioneer]

What do people think about putting the streetcar "barn" down there? Obviously it would be a functional maintenance facility, but they can be designed to be "cool." I was thinking if Union Station was ever used for a museum, it would be a nice way to "pay homage" and create something rail related that would actually be useful.

San Francisco's cable car power station is a functioning museum for example. You can see the machines and employees at work through glass from the street.

[Pete]

Here's a link to Doug's fantastic blog post about US with tons of present day photos and lots about the history:

http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2009/06...irca-2009.html

[BoulderSooner]

What do people think about putting the streetcar "barn" down there? Obviously it would be a functional maintenance facility, but they can be designed to be "cool." I was thinking if Union Station was ever used for a museum, it would be a nice way to "pay homage" and create something rail related that would actually be useful.

San Francisco's cable car power station is a functioning museum for example. You can see the machines and employees at work through glass from the street.

wouldn't that take quite a bit of "extra" track? in an out of the way location

[Urban Pioneer]

Well it depends. If the Convention Center does somehow make it to the Core to Shore Site and there is pressure for a more direct connection to the park, then its probably not a big deal to put it down there. Yes, to go specifically down there for the maintenance facility would take up track. It might only need to be a single track, but it is indeed more track that might be able to go somewhere else.

My question was more esoteric. Does it make sense to put it down there to "pay homage" and make the area more interesting in a "rail sense."

The maintenance facility question could almost go anywhere on the line although a more centralized location means that service delays are "swapping" cars would probably take less time. Then there is the actual monetary or development potential of the land that is an issue at whatever the location might be.

[Patrick]

UP, have you been talking to Tom Elmore? lol!

[Urban Pioneer]

UP, have you been talking to Tom Elmore? lol!

lol. No The streetcar has nothing to do with the "fight" over the Union Station rail yard issues of the past. My point is that the area has such history associated with rail, let's throw out some idea to make the neighborhood area more interesting and developed. The "car barn" is something that the committee is going to have to pick a site for, so it seems to me an intriguing opportunity if it made sense to already be going down there.

Obviously, simply offices for COTPA in the building itself is a somewhat laughable re-use of such a great building itself.

[David Pollard]

I saw that the link my earlier post no longer works, so wanted to post it again. Union station would be great as a 'destination' in its own right like Chijmes in singapore. It has all the right ingredients: architectural 'bones' that speak of the place we come from, prime location near the new highway and park, close to other entertainment, yet unique on its own as well. OK, Chijmes in Singapore did take 100 million to renovate, but this could be done much cheaper in OKC and still be a fantastic facility.

[Pete]

I'm sure COPTA will find another location and the building will be renovated for public use. That's been indicated in all drawings and conceptual plans for Core to Shore.

The best use would be a cafe in the smaller of the two large waiting rooms, making use of the covered loggia, which will offer a great view of Central Park and the skyline to the north. The large waiting room could be used for movable exhibits and art, allowing it to be configured for all types of events. The ticket windows would be a fantastic bar.

The back rooms and dock areas would work well for a museum / gift shop. Integrating rail might make sense there, as long as the front of the property and main rooms are left open and easy to be reconfigured for a variety of purposes.

[Doug Loudenback]

I don't have a specific recollection as to source or content, but something is stuck in my memory that a federal requirement tie exits ... maybe because of a federal funding grant, something ... that the building MUST have a transportation component of some type. Sorry not to be able to be more specific. But, if that's so (federal requirement), the city is obligated to have some type of a transportation component at the facility. Someone with a better memory and/or knowledge than mine needs to help us out with this, but the general sense I have is that it would not be OK for COTPA to vacate the premises unless some other transportation function came to exist.

Larry? You're pretty good about this sort of thing ... anyone?