Return of Rail Could Be Ticket to Reviving Landmark St. Louis Station

Once a national hub of passenger rail service, St. Louis's majestic Union Station hasn't seen a train in five years. The impending sale of the station may provide the opportunity to bring a historic use back to one of the country's grand relics.

1 minute read

October 11, 2012, 5:00 AM PDT

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


The sale of St. Louis's Union Station to Bob O'Loughlin's Lodging Hospitality Management (LHM) for $20 million is due to be completed this week. As soon as the ink is dry, LHM plans to embark immediately on plans to revive the national historic landmark with "more hotel and office space, less retail – and maybe even a return of trains, along with a transportation museum," reports Tim Bryant.

"Union Station fell empty after Amtrak left [in 1978]," notes Bryant. "A $140 million renovation
and restoration by the Rouse Co., of Baltimore, produced a grand
re-opening in 1985 under Rouse's model of 'festival marketplace.'
Business was good for a few years, but without a strong anchor the
station fell out of favor with St. Louis residents and tourists."

"O'Loughlin
said he hopes Union Station will succeed this time with a mixture of
stores, offices and a hotel similar to Westport Plaza, where LHM is
headquartered. Anchoring Union Station with trains should help bring
back the good times, he added."

Tuesday, October 9, 2012 in St. Louis Post-Dispatch

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

April 18 - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive