Dallas Union Terminal
400 S. Houston St., Dallas, TXThe Dallas Union Terminal building is one of the finest examples of the Beaux-Arts Classical style in Texas. The building is significant not only for its excellence in its craftsmanship and detailing, but also for its representation of how Beaux-Arts Classicism was interpreted in Texas after its prime popularity on the East and West Coasts. Built at a time when railroad travel was at its peak, the station was used to capacity only prior to 1920 and during World War II. Despite its infrequent use over the last decade, the facility remains virtually intact today.
During the years prior to the construction of a passenger facility for all of Dallas! railroads, the city was served by nine lines using five depots. Preliminary studies for a single station began in 1906, leading to a proposal for two stations to accommodate all the railroads except the St. Louis Southwestern. The citizens of Dallas, which numbered 140,000, disapproved of this plan, and in 1912 the Union Terminal Company was organized to construct a single facility. Stock in the company was owned equally by the member railroads: the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe; the Chicago, Rock Island & Gulf; the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas, St. Louis, San Francisco & Texas; the Houston & Texas Central; the St. Louis Southwestern; the Trinity & Brazos Valley; and the Texas & Pacific. The Texas & New Orleans Railroad also entered the terminal as a tenant line.
Mr. Jarvis Hunt of Chicago was commissioned as the architect for the project. The chief engineer of the Union Terminal Company was Mr. C. H. Dana, while Mr. F. D. Griffin was the engineer of outside construction. The engineer of buildings was Mr. W. P. Weathers, who worked in conjunction with Mr. J. W. Thompson of St. Louis, a general railroad contractor. Construction began in March 1914, and the terminal opened to passengers on October 8, 1916. An official opening was held six days later on the opening day of the State Fair of Texas in Dallas.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.