St. Louis Union Station Architectural Drawings, 1891-1970
| WUA University Archives
Arrangement
The arrangement of the collection follows the scheme originally implemented by St. Louis Station Associates, into lettered and numbered sections, was retained by University Archives.
NOTE TO RESEARCHERS: When requesting a drawing please include the drawer number, drawing number, description, and date. The drawing number is the four digit number that preceeds the description for each item.
Series A1: General Site, circa 1892-1969
Series A2: Electrical and Steam Lines, circa 1930-1966
Series A3: Train Shed, circa 1892-1965
Series A4: Terminal Hotel, circa 1894-1964
Series A5: Headhouse, circa 1892-1957
Series B1: Railway Express Agency (REA) Building, ca. 1892-1893
Series B2: Train Shed, ca. 1892-1893 (see also A-3)
Series B3: Headhouse, Levels B and 1, ca. 1892-1964
Series B4: Headhouse, Levels 2-5 and Roof, ca. 1902-1967
Series B5: Midway and 1937 Addition, ca. 1903-1960
Series C1: Subway Buildings, ca. 1903-1955
Series C2: Subway, ca. 1893-1930
Series C3: Subway, ca. 1902-1903
Series C4: 1903 Train Shed Extension, ca. 1903
Series C5: 1900 Record Plats for TRRA, ca. 1900
Series D1: Butterfly Sheds, ca. 1924-1953
Series D2: Mail Buildings, ca. 1903-1961
Series D3: Railroad Company Buildings (Pullman Co., Alton Railroad, Wabash Railroad, Penn-Vandalia Railroad), ca. 1903-1967
Series D4: Diesel Station & Outer Buildings
Series E1: Power House, 1903-1953
Series E2: Power House and Water Treatment, ca. 1902-1949
Series E3: Signal Bridges and Switching Tower 1, ca. 1903-1940
Series E4: Structural Miscellaneous (includes pumps, engine, and boiler rooms, etc.), ca. 1903-1966
Series E5: Ticket Office Revisions, ca. 1942
Series F1: Fred Harvey's, ca. 1944-1967
Series F2: Subways and Depot Master's Office, ca. 1903-1929
Series F3: Fragile drawings
NOTE TO RESEARCHERS: When requesting a drawing please include the drawer number, drawing number, description, and date. The drawing number is the four digit number that preceeds the description for each item.
Administrative/Biographical History
Union Station is generally attributed to Theodore C. Link, as the predominate architect throughout the building project. He was joined by other architects in the initial phases, from 1891 -1894 when the station opened, and in the subsequent construction of the adjoining Terminal Hotel. Drawings early in the process were signed “Theo. C. Link and Edward A. Cameron.” Later tracings for the Terminal Hotel include work by Alfred Paist Rosenheim and William B. Ittner, along with Link.
St. Louis Union Station is considered by many experts to be the grandest and the most important railway edifice erected before the close of the 19th-century. Combined with James Eads' successful endeavor to span the Mississippi River with a novel multi-level railway and pedestrian bridge that unimpeded river traffic, St. Louis Union Station stood as convincing proof that St. Louis was at the country's center for transportation in the middle-west.
The architects, Theodore C. Link and Edward A. Cameron, sought to purposely capture both the solidity and permanence of established European architectural styles coupled with clever and practical solutions to serve the [then] modern and thriving world of tractive steam locomotive engines.
The St. Louis Union Station train shed was designed by Washington University graduate George H. Pegram. Due to the enormous span planned for the St. Louis Union Station train shed, Pegram's patented railroad bridge truss design proved to be the most practical to fabricate. This resulted in the world's largest train shed, measuring 700 by 606 feet and supporting the operation of thirty-two terminating tracks and gates, nineteen miles of track line, 130 switches, and 103 signals.
A building of mammoth proportions and elegant ornamental decoration, St. Louis Union Station was intended to accommodate thousands of travelers and workers daily. The monumental head house featured numerous amenities including a luxurious hotel, a saloon, a dining hall, lunch rooms, lounges, ticket offices, several offices for the Terminal Railroad Association, and the world's first barrel-vaulted train station concourse, or "Grand Hall."
Over time, as tractive technologies evolved from steam to diesel and to diesel-electric powered engines, St. Louis Union Station too underwent countless changes. With the growing popularity of automobiles and aircraft as alternatives modes of transportation, St. Louis Union Station eventually fell into disuse by the late 1970s. In 1985, the complex was re-opened as a modern commercial center including a shopping complex.
Subjects (links to similar collections) Administrative InformationUsers of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.
Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
The collection consists of approximately 1400 drawings documenting the construction of St. Louis Union Station, hotel, train shed, and associated buildings, along with many modifications to the station up to the 1970s. Drawings from the 1890s-1920s are predominantly ink on white linen tracing cloth. Other drawings include pencil on tracing paper, pencil on tracing cloth, mechanical reproductions including blueprints on paper, diazotypes on paper, and Xerox (electrostatic) prints on Mylar.
Approximate size and additional information given for select drawings, and items available in digital format are noted.
NOTE TO RESEARCHERS: When requesting drawings please include the folder number, drawing number, description, and date. The drawing number is the four digit number that precedes the description for each item.