St. Louis Union Station Architectural Drawings, 1891-1970 | WUA University Archives

The arrangement of the collection follows the scheme orginally implemented by St. Louis Station Associates and is outlined below, by drawer and structure.

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.

Drawer A-1: General Site, ca. 1892-1969

Drawer A-2: Electrical and Steam Lines, ca. 1930-1966

Drawer A-3: Train Shed, ca. 1892-1965

Drawer A-4: Terminal Hotel, ca. 1894-1964

Drawer A-5: Headhouse, ca. 1892-1957

Drawer B-1: Railway Express Agency (REA) Building, ca. 1892-1893

Drawer B-2: Train Shed, ca. 1892-1893 (see also A-3)

Drawer B-3: Headhouse, Levels B and 1, ca. 1892-1964

Drawer B-4: Headhouse, Levels 2-5 and Roof, ca. 1902-1967

Drawer B-5: Midway and 1937 Addition, ca. 1903-1960

Drawer C-1: Subway Buildings, ca. 1903-1955

Drawer C-2: Subway, ca. 1893-1930

Drawer C-3: Subway, ca. 1902-1903

Drawer C-4: 1903 Train Shed Extension, ca. 1903 C-5: 1900 Record Plats for TRRA, ca. 1900

Drawer D-1: Butterfly Sheds, ca. 1924-1953

Drawer D-2: (none)

Drawer D-3: Mail Buildings, ca. 1903-1961

Drawer D-4: Railroad Company Buildings (Pullman Co., Alton Railroad, Wabash Railroad, Penn-Vandalia Railroad), ca. 1903-1967

Drawer D-5: Diesel Station & Outer Buildings

Drawer E-1: Power House, 1903-1953

Drawer E-2: Power House and Water Treatment, ca. 1902-1949

Drawer E-3: Signal Bridges and Switching Tower 1, ca. 1903-1940

Drawer E-4: Structural Miscellaneous (includes pumps, engine, and boiler rooms, etc.), ca. 1903-1966

Drawer E-5: Ticket Ofice Revisions, ca. 1942

Drawer F-1: Fred Harvey's, ca. 1944-1967

Drawer F-2: Subways and Depot Master's Office, ca. 1903-1929

Drawer F-3: Curiosities (VERY fragile drawings. Consult Archives staff for Details)

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.

St. Louis Station Associates

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 was 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 station was completed in 1894.

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, gender-oriented lounges, a ticket office, several offices for the Terminal Railroad Association, and the world's first barrel-vaulted train station concourse, or "Grand Hall."

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.

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 1970's. In 1985, the complex was re-opened as a modern commercial center with many of its original features preserved.