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INDIANAPOLIS
Indianapolis Union Railroad Station

Indianapolis Union Railroad Station
Indianapolis Union Railroad Station
Indiana Division of Historic Preservation
and Archaeology

The Indianapolis Union Railroad Station, a massive and impressive Romanesque Revival building, is the single most important icon of the city’s railroad era. Today, the station houses a major hotel, restaurants, and a charter school. A branch office of the Mexican Embassy also is located in the building, a sign of Indy’s changing demographics, and a fitting place, because this was the gateway to Indianapolis for most of the city’s immigrants of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In 1847, the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad reached Indianapolis. Railroads connected the young state capital to the rest of the nation. Over the next decade, other major rail lines would reach town. Because the railroads crossed through at various locations, connections for freight and travelers were complicated. In August 1849, Union Railway Company formed to solve the problem. The company laid tracks to connect the railroads, then built a large brick train shed where all lines met – America’s first Union Station, which was located on this site.


As the city’s rail-based trade grew, rail, business, and civic leaders wanted a new station befitting the importance of railroads to Indianapolis. In 1886, the railroads hired Pittsburgh architect Thomas Rodd to plan a new “head house,” or main office/waiting hall. The rock-faced tapered stone walls and massive multi-coursed round brick arches of the current Union Station are characteristic of Romanesque Revival architecture. No doubt, Rodd had seen similar works by Henry Hobson Richardson, America’s master of Romanesque Revival. A massive clock tower, circular “rose” window, lofty slate roof, and bartizans at the corners reinforce the medieval character of the head house.


Indianapolis Union Railroad Station
Indianapolis Union Railroad Station
Indiana Division of Historic Preservation
and Archaeology

The interior of the head house has a grand hall with two block long sky lit barrel vault. Various railroad administrative offices were located along the perimeter of the hall, accessible by an iron-railed balcony. Passengers purchased tickets and waited below on the main floor.

Railroads rebuilt the train sheds behind the head house in the 1880s. With the increase in passenger trains, backed-up rail traffic blocked city streets in three directions many times a day, and passengers had to cross active tracks to board. In 1913, city, Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central leaders began an extensive program to modernize Union Station and end rail congestion. Engineers designed elevated rail crossings and a new train shed. Its exterior is plain, but on the interior, architects Price & McLanahan planned for extensive use of Arts & Crafts tile work. With special raised walkways, passengers could now board without crossing tracks. Travelers still board passenger trains at Union Station, and the local Greyhound Bus Depot is located just behind Union Station.

In the mid-1980s, local developer Robert Borns converted Union Station into a festival marketplace using the Federal investment tax credit program for historic structures. The project enjoyed success for about ten years before encountering financial troubles but should be credited with laying the foundation for a nearby Circle Center Mall. Today, the head house serves as a banquet hall and is owned by the City of Indianapolis.

Plan your visit
Indianapolis Union Railroad Station is located downtown at 39 Jackson Place. Various restaurants and facilities are open to the public in Union Station, but the head house is open only for special events. Visitors also can tour the immediately adjacent Indianapolis Union Station—Wholesale Historic District. Union Station has been documented by the National Park Service's Historic American Buildings Survey.
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