Resting on the corner at 39th and Jackson Place is the historic Union Station that once housed a vast amount of trains, railroads and travelers. Today the Indianapolis Department of Metropolitan Development is looking to conserve and restore the structure by maintenance repairs and a proposal to complete more repairs.
On Aug. 20, the department presented information to the Metropolitan Development Commission (MDC) regarding repairs that have been already authorized, those in the construction process and the timeline to complete additional repairs.
“CSX, (owners of the remaining freight lines) along with the City said ‘let’s take an overall look at the structure.’ HDR, that engineer looked at all of the wall structures and said everything seems to be in pretty good shape, it just needs to be monitored,” said John Bartholomew, public information officer for the Department of Metropolitan Development.
Repairs that are currently in progress total over $700 thousand according to the Department of Metropolitan Development. Additional repairs, which pertain to non-structural and cosmetic issues, are estimated to total $3.7 million. Among those list of repairs include addressing the South wall structure failure which happened late 2012, chimney masonry damage at the Head House, repair to the steel stairway under the Meridian Street Bridge and others.
Built in 1888 as the country’s first union station, then referred to as the “union depot,” is located on the south end of downtown and consists of two buildings and three bridges.
Since the renovation of the Crown Plaza Hotel interior in 2013, the roof of the area has also gotten some attention.
“This is an example of where we’ve had hail damage and deterioration of the skylights that run down the station. The skylights are historically where the train tracks were,” said Bartholomew.
As the first railroad service in Indianapolis served the area, the “Head House” was designed by Pittsburg architect, Thomas Rodd which was formed with tapered stone walls, round block arches, stained glass windows and a massive clock tower adding character to the Romanesque Revival building. The structure served as the main entry point, ticketing and waiting area.
As a result of the new rail system of 13 tracks that served passenger and freight trains, the population of the city sparked from 8,000 people in 1850 to over 18,000 in 1860 according to the City’s data. The area had outgrown the facility.
Multiple rows of train track created a dangerous environment for passengers to board the train, who had to cross them by foot to access the transportation. In 1920 the train shed was opened and a steel railroad bridge elevated the train tracks.
After the 1960s transportation by train was down due to the creation of automobiles and other methods of getting around town. After several years of the complex deteriorating, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, which prevented demolition.
For about a decade the complex was turned into a shopping mall referred to as the “festival marketplace.” Designed to mock historic train stations, the mall featured restaurants such as Hooters and Cheeseburger in Paradise in 1993.
Soon after the Circle Center Mall was opened in 1995, the Union Station’s shopping area closed.
“We feel very good that we have no safety issues,” said Adam Thies, director of the Department of Metropolitan Development. “We’re trying to address the things that need to be addressed in an old building and we have the right to do that because it’s a beloved building so we care a lot about it.”
Despite the many thoughts that the station is vacant, 90 percent of the building is leased to office spaces such as the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, Cadillac Ranch restaurant, Bartini’s Premier Martini Lounge, CHA, the Greyhound station and many more according to the Department of Metropolitan Development.
