View Full Version : Union Station



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Just the facts
08-06-2011, 04:27 PM
The pictures are great but how much of the tunnel is left? There is a 10 lane interstate and train tracks right out the back door now. What would they be spending 100K on?

Snowman
08-06-2011, 06:18 PM
The pictures are great but how much of the tunnel is left? There is a 10 lane interstate and train tracks right out the back door now. What would they be spending 100K on?

For 100K it is not going to be much. As far as how much is left, it seems probable they would have removed anything that would have been under the interstate and put in a new bulkhead.

Larry OKC
08-06-2011, 07:35 PM
Great pics Doug! A couple of things that HAVE to go is that cubicle looking thing and the acoustic tile/dropped ceiling in the office!

Just the facts
08-07-2011, 07:38 PM
For 100K it is not going to be much. As far as how much is left, it seems probable they would have removed anything that would have been under the interstate and put in a new bulkhead.

Did anyone notice if they took the tunnel out when the freeway was put in? That would be been pretty easy to see if someone was looking for it and would have been interesting see uncovered.

Urban Pioneer
08-09-2011, 08:47 AM
I have current photo's of the tunnel. It is "shaved off." The building permit is essentially to seal off and waterproof what remains below grade which is currently exposed.

When it is all said and done, the historic ramp inside the building will remain and the doors that separate the "tunnel level" from the building lobby/ramp. Only about 20' of the tunnel itself will remain. It would make an interesting "movie set" but not much else.

While I haven't studied the flexibility of the building design itself, interestingly enough the idea has been maintained that Union station could have a "stop" platform on the rail line that is at "highway grade" on the other side of the retaining wall via a small tunnel extension. The platform would presumably be a stop on the line out to the airport/Yukon.

The problem with that concept is ADA issues and how to architectural resolve them. It is a novel idea but the ramp in Union Station is too steep to meet current codes for grade. So some sort of elevator or other device would have to be incorporated into the building design to accommodate handicapped.

I wish that they were just going ahead and making preparations for such a possibility as doing it later is going to be inherently complicated. Not impossible, but everything will be buried and sealed off at that point in the very near future.

Larry OKC
08-10-2011, 02:20 AM
Urban: I take it then that Union Station definitely is NOT going to somehow connect with the MAPS 3 Streetcars? i don't have anything against it being repurposed (such as a restaurant with historic photos of its history). Just seems a logical MAPS 3 synergy if it was a streetcar stop. I am sad.

i know it isn't possible but ideally I would like to switch the Union and Santa Fe stations. I love the outside appearance of Union much more than Santa Fe.

rcjunkie
08-10-2011, 04:28 AM
Urban: I take it then that Union Station definitely is NOT going to somehow connect with the MAPS 3 Streetcars? i don't have anything against it being repurposed (such as a restaurant with historic photos of its history). Just seems a logical MAPS 3 synergy if it was a streetcar stop. I am sad.

i know it isn't possible but ideally I would like to switch the Union and Santa Fe stations. I love the outside appearance of Union much more than Santa Fe.

Maybe I missed something, but what does removing the the tunnel have to do with the Union Station not having the means to connect to the streetcar system.

Larry OKC
08-10-2011, 05:08 AM
Maybe I missed something, but what does removing the the tunnel have to do with the Union Station not having the means to connect to the streetcar system.
Nothing directly relating the closed tunnel but this was in the middle of Urban's post which talked about a line out to the Airport/Yukon (which I was reading as meaning a light rail or commuter rail type line as opposed to the Streetcars, and even if part of some future expansion of the Streetcar, not a part of MAPS 3 which will likely mean several more years out from it):

While I haven't studied the flexibility of the building design itself, interestingly enough the idea has been maintained that Union station could have a "stop" platform on the rail line that is at "highway grade" on the other side of the retaining wall via a small tunnel extension. The platform would presumably be a stop on the line out to the airport/Yukon.

Urban Pioneer
08-10-2011, 07:23 AM
I didn't say anything or intend to imply anything about streetcar. How, if, or when it will interface with the building/park/bridge has yet to be determined.

I would suggest however that it would be beneficial to those projects. Perhaps some of the $30 million could fund it. LOL

Larry OKC
08-10-2011, 11:16 AM
Urban: So now I am still confused (happening a lot these days...LOL). Are there plans for the Streetcar to run down to Union Station?

If I am looking at the most recent map over in the Streetcar thread correctly (see below) along with what you had about the (unspecified) "line out to the airport/Yukon", looks like it runs along Reno (with a possible "option" down to the Boulevard, just skirting the upper edge of the Park and NOT utilizing Union Station? Wouldn't that resort in a wasted use of rail/time/money to put an E/W line in at the top of the Park and then a little bit latter doing it again to utilize Union directly? Presume that the redundant corresponding section along Reno would not be built if the Boulevard "option" is included? Just seems like the most cost effective way to do it is to do so from the beginning.

Plus, it would avoid the our version of the "bridge to nowhere" (a Train Station without "trains").

From Steve's blog.
Could This Be the Beginning of OKC’s New Streetcar System? (http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/2011/07/15/could-this-be-the-beginning-of-okcs-new-streetcar-system/streetcar/)

http://blog.newsok.com/okccentral/files/2011/07/streetcar.jpg

Just the facts
08-10-2011, 11:26 AM
Larry,

There are no plans to run the MAPS III funded streetcar to Union Station. Future non-MAPS III streeetcar expansion might run there and it is possible a commuter rail line connecting downtown with the airport could make a stop at Union Station, but probably wouldn't anyhow, as they took out the link between Union Station and Stockyard City to make way for the new I-40. Any train using exisiting track going to the airport would have to do it south of the Oklahoma River.

Larry OKC
08-10-2011, 11:31 AM
Just the Facts: I am not doubting what you posted as that was my understanding of it as well (before I got confused). That all seems needlessly wasteful (not the most efficient use of limited funds). I hope Urban or Hutch might respond to clarify just in case we are both incorrect.

Just the facts
08-10-2011, 11:39 AM
Just the Facts: I am not doubting what you posted as that was my understanding of it as well (before I got confused). That all seems needlessly wasteful (not the most efficient use of limited funds). I hope Urban or Hutch might respond to clarify just in case we are both incorrect.

I do know at least one council member suggested the idea of going along Core 2 Shore to spur development in the area. Some of the council members are detached from reality when it comes to the streetcar.

Urban Pioneer
08-10-2011, 01:50 PM
Ok. Let me try to clarify this as best as I can as it stands today.

BACK THEN

The original, idea of the streetcar going further in the park had to do with where the Convention Center was originally positioned by the Core to Shore people. Union Station made an obvious "turn around" point in the system do to its historic relevance to train travel and the fact that something might actually go in there that the public would want to use. This sort of generalized scenario was depicted in the broad map we used early on when campaigning for streetcars to be part of Maps 3.


TODAY

I went to a meeting of the Maps 3 Park Subcommittee where it was expressed to me that they wanted streetcar connectivity to the park. They did not specify what kind of connectivity or exactly how they wanted it to interface.

If you look at the Alternatives Analysis map, a Reno/Sheridan connection to the Santa-Fe Depot is proposed, essentially one block away. Using the alternate route of the new OKC Boulevard would mean that it would be catty-corner directly across from the park.

Since the new Convention Center is undoubtedly going to the Ford Dealership/Fred Jones site, the question becomes, do you go deeper into the park with the streetcar?

A. Is Union Station a "must have" stop in Phase 1?

B. Does the new Skydance Bridge next to Union Station warrant a stop directly next to it?

C. Considering it is a park, is Reno or the New Boulevard close enough that its is completely reasonable to ask people to actually walk across it to get to and from the transit stop? lol


GENERAL BELIEF ABOUT THIS

Going to give you my observation about this.

1. The Convention Center moving across the Boulevard from the park has taken a great deal of "wind out of the sails" of the Park Subcommittee. They don't have a master plan. The CC might have accelerated the formation of one.

2. In all the bantering about conceptual CC designs for the old park site and other broad discussions on this forum, most of everybody has seemingly forgot (or doesn't know) about all of the crazy grade changes that are going to occur as result of the new I-40, Robinson bridge ramp, new Boulevard declining ramp, and Skydance Bridge suspended ramp.

As a member of the Transit Subcommittee, I want to have a model of all of these grade changes in front of me before we make decisions about the streetcar going anywhere over there. Even if the streetcar can traverse through all of these grade changes, they might mean that a pedestrian can't.

If I were on the Parks Subcommittee, I would ask for the same thing.


Regarding my observations about all of this, perhaps Steve can give better/more insight as he has attended other meetings as well. But right now I would say that there is a strong lack of coherence as to what all is about to happen in that area, even for those who have tried to study it directly. And I mean that in an overall context as well as a more intimate one.

You have an undetermined Boulevard size, declining underpass under the railroad BNSF bridge, ramping Robinson Avenue, new I-40 Crosstown "canyon", suspended approach to Skydance Bridge, emergency vehicle tunnel, and transmission lines going to a electrical substation (that increasingly looks like its going to stay for a while). Oh, and the newly completed Walker ramp approach.

Ironically, the new park in front of Union Station may end up almost as "land-locked" as it ever was. If so, it would somewhat "contain" pedestrian activity forcing it towards a Northern located transit stop anyways.

Urban Pioneer
08-10-2011, 02:02 PM
It could also be argued that if it is "land-locked" then Union Station makes a great "bookend" as well and has a promising future.

Regarding Commuter rail connections, it would be strictly for the line out to Yukon. You are right about the RR bridge being gone where the new highway is located. Presumably a connection to the Airport would be via the Packing Town Lead through northern Capitol Hill or a Rapid Streetcar/Light-Rail line going a different route out there.

So as it relates to Union Station building, the need for a stop is in the pretty far distant future although some savings could probably occur if they just went ahead and did it now. Unfortunately, a study doesn't exist that says that it should be done and there is no money to do it, so its really a mute point.

Larry OKC
08-10-2011, 08:31 PM
Urban; thanks for your thoughts. Just double dawg danaged frustrating to see what could be avoided if the proper planning was put into place before they present these ideas to the voters. Yes that costs money too but a million bucks spent in proper planning to avoid multi-million dollar mistakes seems the wisest course. Meaning how projects, including MAPS & others, interact with each other etc. All too often it seems like the proverbial left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. When they decided on the current Bus Transit Center (which had to be relocated because of the Ballpark), was no thought given to the the future transit Hub etc. or was that not even on anyone's radar screen at the time? I don't know the exact chronological timing of it, just know that they have been studying the Mass Transit needs for quite a while now. Not looking at the bigger, long term future. How many times have we decided to rip something out then turn around a bit later and decide to put it back in again? Like traffic circles among many other things.

Also appreciate the grade/elevation change "challenges". Easy to lose sight that we don't live in a flat 2-D world, that OKC does actually have those types of things. Quickly reminded how non-flat we are during every ice storm and you try to come to a stop where intended...

Guess the answer to utilizing Union Station is just to move it to the upper edge of the Park so it can connect with the Streetcar? Make it like the front door entrance to the Park (like Disneyland). Sounds like it would be cheaper to bring the Station to the Streetcar than the Streetcar to the Station. Heck, I would much rather spend $30MM to move it than the OGE thingy. LOL

In answer to your questions;
A. Yes absolutely!
B. OK, sure, why not
C. No (if i understood it correctly)

rcjunkie
08-11-2011, 01:28 AM
Urban; thanks for your thoughts. Just double dawg danaged frustrating to see what could be avoided if the proper planning was put into place before they present these ideas to the voters. Yes that costs money too but a million bucks spent in proper planning to avoid multi-million dollar mistakes seems the wisest course. Meaning how projects, including MAPS & others, interact with each other etc. All too often it seems like the proverbial left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. When they decided on the current Bus Transit Center (which had to be relocated because of the Ballpark), was no thought given to the the future transit Hub etc. or was that not even on anyone's radar screen at the time? I don't know the exact chronological timing of it, just know that they have been studying the Mass Transit needs for quite a while now. Not looking at the bigger, long term future. How many times have we decided to rip something out then turn around a bit later and decide to put it back in again? Like traffic circles among many other things.

Also appreciate the grade/elevation change "challenges". Easy to lose sight that we don't live in a flat 2-D world, that OKC does actually have those types of things. Quickly reminded how non-flat we are during every ice storm and you try to come to a stop where intended...

Guess the answer to utilizing Union Station is just to move it to the upper edge of the Park so it can connect with the Streetcar? Make it like the front door entrance to the Park (like Disneyland). Sounds like it would be cheaper to bring the Station to the Streetcar than the Streetcar to the Station. Heck, I would much rather spend $30MM to move it than the OGE thingy. LOL

In answer to your questions;
A. Yes absolutely!
B. OK, sure, why not
C. No (if i understood it correctly)

False statement, the Bus Transit was S. of the Myriad (Cox Center) the building of the Ballpark had zero to do with it's moving.

Larry OKC
08-11-2011, 04:23 AM
THATS what you have trouble with? LOL

OK, I was so frustrated i did that one from memory and didn't look it up first. My bad. Why was the transit moved from south of the Myriad? What was moved/torn down for the Ballpark?

ON EDIT: I got my MAPS projects mixed up, the Transit Center was moved to make way for the Ford Center and COTPA was relocated to make room for the Ballpark, so RCJunkie was right for once...
http://www.gometro.org/history-4

In 1996, COTPA’s operations and maintenance facility was relocated to 2000 S May in order to make way for the Bricktown Ballpark. Then in the late 90s the transit center was moved to make the construction of the Ford Center possible. The transit center’s temporary site was across from the Oklahoma County Jail at Shartel and Couch.
So that sentence should read...
"When they decided on the current Bus Transit Center (which had to be relocated because of the Ford Center), was no thought given to the the future transit Hub etc. or was that not even on anyone's radar screen at the time?"

Urban Pioneer
08-11-2011, 09:23 AM
Well personally I am not surprised that the Bus Center went where it went. The support simply has not existed until about 5 years ago to actually spend the money to do the actual planning that needs to be done.

For that matter, very few city staff are willing to expose themselves to risk and lead planning on major projects that may or may not have public/council support.

Regarding the importance of actually going further into the park with the streetcar, I think it is less important as the Convention Center is not along side of it. However, the Park Committee will need to weigh in on this matter.

I would say that straight alignments from the new Hub outward make more practical sense for future commuter then re-routing them through a park before going into the core of downtown simply to go by Union Station. That is, if you are looking at it from an efficiency point of view.

Urban Pioneer
08-11-2011, 09:24 AM
When I get the photo's of the old tunnels downloaded, I will put them up.

Larry OKC
08-11-2011, 09:54 AM
Urban: It may have gotten lost in my frustration but I do like that different subcommittees are talking to each other and seeing how it all fits together for the common good. We could use more of that and less of the vacuum mentality or even worse, the us vs. them that sometimes happens.

Rover
08-11-2011, 10:01 AM
Anytime you have lost of money to be spent, there will be competition and conflict among those that perceive they have the power to direct it.

Urban Pioneer
08-12-2011, 12:10 PM
Here are the promised pics of the severed historic Union Station underground pedestrian tunnels.

957

Note the new concrete wall to the left is the new retaining wall with the highway and freight rail alignments behind it.

956

Urban Pioneer
08-12-2011, 12:26 PM
Here is the new highway directly behind the wall described above. The new highway and rail alignment is essentially at "tunnel level."

The old rail yard and platforms would have been centered between the two photographs.

959
Facing SE

958
Facing SW

Pete
08-12-2011, 12:40 PM
Thanks for those, UP.

Makes me sad to see that as that old tunnel was pretty cool.

But looking forward to getting the C2S park going and bringing Union Station back to prominence.

Larry OKC
08-12-2011, 11:21 PM
Here are the promised pics of the severed historic Union Station underground pedestrian tunnels.

957

Note the new concrete wall to the left is the new retaining wall with the highway and freight rail alignments behind it.

956

http://www.40forward.com/faqs/

Why do you have to destroy Union Station to build the new Crosstown?
This is a common misconception. Construction of the new Crosstown is not destroying Union station....
Nope, not destroying the Station, just the Station's Tunnels... as seen by clicking on the links above.

Pete
09-19-2012, 04:12 PM
A recent photo... One of the best things about the new Central Park is that this beautiful structure will be featured:

http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/unionstation2012.jpg

Pete
09-19-2012, 04:53 PM
Sid, if you haven't already done so, you should go down there and walk around the inside.

The COPTA offices are still there and it's a junky mess, but basically the whole place has been preserved beneath the easily-removable partitions and other changes.

All the original flooring, light fixtures, ticket windows, etc.

Pete
09-19-2012, 04:58 PM
That doesn't surprise me!


You know, I've yet to hear of any plans for this building. There is nothing in the Central Park budget for it, never have heard of where COPTA might move, certainly no formalized effort to determine the highest and best use.

It won't be long until the first phase of Central Park is complete and this building will be a jumbled, relatively inaccessible mess on the inside.

CaptDave
09-19-2012, 05:03 PM
The building's location is unfortunate - it really is too bad it couldn't have been used for a rail/transit hub. Santa Fe station is nice enough and will serve the purpose, but Union Station would have been the ideal choice were it not for location. (Geez, I know I may have opened a can of worms but I didn't intend to.)

I wonder what its eventual use will be once Central Park is in place and redevelopment begins.

Pete
09-19-2012, 05:12 PM
It will get plenty of exposure once the park is largely complete.

I'd like to see a nice restaurant / cafe facing the park with dining on the outdoor terrace and just inside:


http://www.okctalk.com/images/pete/union/floorplan3.jpg

Pete
09-19-2012, 05:38 PM
For those who haven't seen the inside of this building, I have a ton of photos starting here:

Union Station - Discussion - OKCTalk (http://www.okctalk.com/showwiki.php?title=Union+Station&page=1&do=comments#post131656)

Bellaboo
09-20-2012, 07:02 AM
The building's location is unfortunate - it really is too bad it couldn't have been used for a rail/transit hub. Santa Fe station is nice enough and will serve the purpose, but Union Station would have been the ideal choice were it not for location. (Geez, I know I may have opened a can of worms but I didn't intend to.)

I wonder what its eventual use will be once Central Park is in place and redevelopment begins.

Watch out, you're going to resurrect the ghost of Tom Elmore ....

dcsooner
09-20-2012, 07:58 AM
WOW! that building has so much potential. I really hope the city maximizes this buildng into a farmers market or other sort of community gathering place ala Union Station in Washington DC http://www.unionstationdc.com/ with resturants and specialty shops etc. I really did not know it existed.

CaptDave
09-20-2012, 08:06 AM
Watch out, you're going to resurrect the ghost of Tom Elmore ....

Ohhh Nooooo!!

betts
09-20-2012, 08:06 AM
The building's location is unfortunate - it really is too bad it couldn't have been used for a rail/transit hub. Santa Fe station is nice enough and will serve the purpose, but Union Station would have been the ideal choice were it not for location. (Geez, I know I may have opened a can of worms but I didn't intend to.)

I wonder what its eventual use will be once Central Park is in place and redevelopment begins.

Location was always the problem for a proposed rail hub. It just wasn't practical.

I'd like to see a restaurant there, ala Tavern on the Green, perhaps some retail and a museum. It would be a great spot for a Saturday Farmer's Market, perhaps with some adjoining food trucks. It would be nice to have a big event space there, as I can certainly envision park weddings. Maybe that should be the site for a Children's Museum, or a space for artist booths where local artists can sell their wares. I can envision myriad options for the space which would allow it to interact with and attract park visitors.

CaptDave
09-20-2012, 08:08 AM
WOW! that building has so much potential. I really hope the city maximizes this buildng into a farmers market or other sort of community gathering place ala Union Station in Washington DC Union Station :: 2 West /40 Massachusetts Ave., NE, Washington, DC. 20002 :: (202) 289-1908 (http://www.unionstationdc.com/) with resturants and specialty shops etc. I really did not know it existed.

I am looking forward to seeing how DC Union Station looks after the renovations. Hopefully, one day OKC will have 1/10 the traffic DC US has presently. OKC US is a great building in the wrong place to be used as our rail/transit hub - most unfortunate. Maybe it will at least be a stop on a future Central OK rail transit system though.

Just the facts
09-20-2012, 08:19 AM
Actually, it is too bad the park is taking up the space around it becasue that would make nice administration and classroom space for Oklahoma City Polytechinc University (which was proposed as part of MAPS III). No word if they would use the name Cow Py for short.

How cool would a small campus of buildings like that be?

CaptDave
09-20-2012, 08:32 AM
Actually, it is too bad the park is taking up the space around it becasue that would make nice administration and classroom space for Oklahoma City Polytechinc University (which was proposed as part of MAPS III). No word if they would use the name Cow Py for short.

How cool would a small campus of buildings like that be?

Time to take your meds JTF!! ;)

I think it would be good to have a college campus downtown but not sure that is the best location given the residential development opportunity in the area. What about a university taking up several floors of FNC? I know Pace University had a high rise campus in NYC.

Crap - i just started a tangent.....

Just the facts
09-20-2012, 08:52 AM
I was thinking of something like Columbia University in NYC or even Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

betts
09-20-2012, 09:01 AM
I don't think regular retail would survive, but I can envision booth space that could be rented sporadically, such as on weekends when the Farmer's Market was operating or to coincide with park events. I could see local artists or craftspeople being interested in something like that. A museum gift shop is always a unique retail option as well, and doesn't necessarily have to be totally self-sufficient.

CaptDave
09-20-2012, 09:06 AM
Location was always the problem for a proposed rail hub. It just wasn't practical.

I'd like to see a restaurant there, ala Tavern on the Green, perhaps some retail and a museum. It would be a great spot for a Saturday Farmer's Market, perhaps with some adjoining food trucks. It would be nice to have a big event space there, as I can certainly envision park weddings. Maybe that should be the site for a Children's Museum, or a space for artist booths where local artists can sell their wares. I can envision myriad options for the space which would allow it to interact with and attract park visitors.

I think you are on target with the best and hopefully most likely use for this great building.

Larry OKC
09-20-2012, 10:45 AM
And if we could just get the Streetcar to make a stop there it could be utilized for rail again...

CaptDave
09-20-2012, 10:54 AM
And if we could just get the Streetcar to make a stop there it could be utilized for rail again...

I hope that will be a MAPS 4 streetcar extension project Larry.

Tritone
09-24-2012, 07:16 PM
This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

Snowman
09-24-2012, 07:18 PM
This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

It did but what was the rail yard to operate as a station is now i40, I guess if we did get commercial rail running, the addition to the back was removed and an under passes were put in at Robinson and Walker it could be a stop on a line but even getting commercial rail to Norman/Tinker/Edmond is by no means certain at this point.

Pete
09-25-2012, 07:40 AM
There is still a rail line that runs directly behind Union Station, just north of the new I-40.

betts
09-25-2012, 08:33 AM
This building would make a great railway station, wouldn't it?

The problem remains location. It's not on the north-south line, which will be an important part of any rail system, as it will connect Edmond and Norman with OKC. It is unfortunate that that is the case, as it is a nicer building than the Santa Fe Station, which has a much better location and already acts as a station for Amtrak. Perhaps we just need to appreciate Union Station for what it is, which is a lovely building with a great past. It can be repurposed, which is what you always hope will happen with a building of its stature. If it someday is a stop on the streetcar line and perhaps a east-west line, that will be great. But, short of taking it down stone by stone and rebuilding it elsewhere, that's pretty much what it can be. I hope it can be a destination for other reasons: a great restaurant, a museum, shopping, a focal point of the park. That's not a tragedy, IMO.

OKCisOK4me
09-25-2012, 08:47 AM
I agree with Betts. In time, with the completion of the park, I hope that it becomes a success at being something other than COPTA storage.

BoulderSooner
09-25-2012, 09:43 AM
Couldn't it be on the line though if we went with a more simplified Robinson spine? In fact, it would make an ideal intersection point for a N/S spine and an E/W route that ran from the airport to Remington Park, no?

the sante fe is the north south spine .... and the rail to the airport goes on the south side of the river .. NOT next to union station ..

LakeEffect
09-25-2012, 10:01 AM
I see. Doesn't it actually cross the river at Western? I assumed that bridge and the that bend back toward the west was all a part of the eventual airport route. Jeff and I walked that a while back.

Nope, no rail at Western. The line near Western was abandoned for I-40. The airport line cuts off at the Cargil plant on S Robinson and follows along the south side of the River until Western and then cuts southwest, eventually paralleling Newcastle Road.

OKCisOK4me
09-25-2012, 12:57 PM
The line behind Union Station runs through Yukon and out to El Reno to join UPs north south line. It used to continue on out west to Weatherford (currently state owned rail but formerly Chicago Rock Island & Pacific) where it merged with UPs line down to El Paso at Tucumcari, NM. ;-)

Tritone
09-25-2012, 08:14 PM
Right, right, and right. The Frisco line from the airport area used to go to Union Station. The old Rock Island line from El Reno, Amarillo, etc. comes in south of Union Station. The old Frisco line to Tulsa and St Louis used to come to Union Station as did the Ft Smith line. Without the yard south of the station it's just a lovely, underutilized building. A lot of good memories there from the early 60s, when it was a railroad station.

Pete
03-01-2013, 08:12 AM
Something strange happening here...

Yesterday, there was a $650,000 building permit for this site for 'parking' by the City of OKC.

HangryHippo
03-01-2013, 08:42 AM
Oh sweet mother of god, no...

jn1780
03-01-2013, 08:48 AM
Could be temporary while the central park is being built.

Pete
03-01-2013, 08:49 AM
There isn't any sort of demolition application, so I'm not worried about the building itself.

Not sure exactly what is planned other than maybe an adjacent parking area for Central Park construction.

jn1780
03-01-2013, 08:55 AM
Temporary parking lot? Or do you mean like a construction lot?

Either one really. I would think any longterm parking would be part of the central park project.

Pete
03-01-2013, 08:57 AM
Just spoke to the City about this...

They are actually re-doing all the parking and sidewalks around Union Station.

Seems like odd timing given the pending construction of the first phase of Central Park, but glad to know they are investing in this great facility.

HangryHippo
03-01-2013, 09:40 AM
Just spoke to the City about this...

They are actually re-doing all the parking and sidewalks around Union Station.

Seems like odd timing given the pending construction of the first phase of Central Park, but glad to know they are investing in this great facility.

That does seem like extremely odd timing. But then again, not a lot of what OKC does makes sense in terms of timing.