Union Station

Union Station in Washington, D.C. opened on October 27, 1907, but was not completed until 1908. It was modeled in the monumental Beaux-Arts style and after the Baths of Caraculla and Diocletian and the triumphal Arch of Rome. It cost more than $25 million to construct.

The exterior of the Station was built of white granite from Bethal, Vermont. It was the first major structure built of Bethal granite.  Inside, the Main Hall measures 120 feet by 119 feet with a 96 foot high plaster ceiling.

Congress passed legislation in 1981 to preserve Union Station as a national treasure. After a $160 million restoration, Union Station reopened its doors on September 29, 1988.

The 36 figures of Roman legionnaires were originally cast nude. Railroad officials feared they would be offensive, and shields were ordered and placed in front of each statue.

In 1945, a funeral train crossed the Potomac and arrived at Union Station carrying the casket of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.