The oak benches, the ones on which passengers once awaited the Sunset Limited, bound for Los Angeles or New Orleans, still stand.
The terra cotta-tiled floors remain, so do all the finer details, such as the zigzag motif on the brass doorknobs and the ornate light fixtures.
Trains still ride the rails here, but they’re freighters. There are no passengers, only a migratory snowbird who hitched a ride on a boxcar. The last Amtrak train pulled out of here in the mid-1990s.
There’s so much about Phoenix‘s Union Station that evokes nostalgia.
If only there weren’t the glaring white microwave dishes outside its arches and the telecommunications equipment inside.
Still, imagine the prolonged whistle rolling by.
In recent years, the station at Harrison Street and Fourth Avenue has been inaccessible to the public. There’s a security fence ringing the building because Sprint, the telecommunications giant, owns the building and stores equipment there. It has been thoughtful enough not to pick at the station’s original bones too much, and years ago, it renovated the depot.
If only the historic station would be filled with people again.
A new era
Tucked away on the southwestern edge of the downtown warehouse district, it’s easy to idealize what the historic train depot could become.
That’s been the story for at least two decades, when the city saw the potential of Union Station. With all its space and Mission Revival architecture, the 1923 building could be a city centerpiece filled with shops, restaurants and artists, the city proposed.
That vision never came to fruition.
But lately, with the renaissance of downtown Phoenix, Sprint came knocking on the doors of downtown planners and the city’s historic preservation office to talk about what is the best use for the building.
"Downtown is at a crossroads, and Sprint is at a crossroads. That’s always good," said Barbara Stocklin, the city’s historic preservation officer.
"If Sprint’s interested in doing something else, it’s good timing."
From the beginning, Union Station was designed to be a high-profile building in the city’s core.
Railroads fed the boom of Phoenix in the 1920s, hauling cattle, cotton, copper and citrus to the east; passenger cars brought tourists.
Over the past several years, along with Chase Field and US Airways Center, the warehouse district has slowly reinvented itself with a handful of galleries, restaurants, lofts and condominiums.
Sprint started the conversations, said spokeswoman Debra Havins, because decisions about upgrading the equipment need to be made.
"Which leads to, ‘Do we need to stay in the building?’ " she said. "Looking at what our options are sparked some interest and speculation."
For now, the building is not for sale.
With tens of thousands of square feet, the station has the potential to become a destination place, said Brian Kearney, of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership, and could easily be a center for restaurants, a museum, galleries and retail.
It could be restored for its original use, too, possibly as a commuter rail station and a transportation hub with buses and taxis. Or both.
What’s old is new again
"Union Station" was created as a common name when the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe railroads consolidated passenger depots into one "union" station. Many "union stations" have been demolished, but cities have also found ways to renovate and reuse them.
Kansas City’s Union Station is a science museum and Amtrak terminal and has restaurants and shops. St. Louis has a light-rail stop and shopping mall, and Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal still services Amtrak, as well as heavy commuter rail, and has restaurants and shopping.
In Tucson, the rail station is now an Amtrak stop, museum and retail area. Flagstaff’s is an Amtrak stop, too, a regional tourist bureau and car-rental station.
Many of those conversions, Stocklin said, were accomplished with federal transportation enhancement funds, a required set-aside program from federal highway dollars since 1991.
Those dollars are still available and could potentially be used for a conversion of Phoenix’s Union Station as well.
The station is on the National Register of Historic Places and the city’s historic register.
"It may be its time, if Sprint’s willing to consider options," said Don Keuth, of Phoenix Community Alliance. The station needs to be re-engaged into the community, he said. "This is kind of like an early Christmas present – a neat little place to play with again."
Angela Cara Pancrazio – The Arizona Republic
