Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri is a historic destination. During World War ll, the train station hosted approximately 1 million travelers, according to its website. Nowadays, it is used as a educational and cultural resource center.
Opened in 1914, this year marks Union Station’s 100th anniversary. From September until November, Union Station will be hosting several events in honor of its centennial. The first will be held this Friday at 5 p.m., proceeding the Kansas City Chief’s football game on Sunday, and will include an all ages concert, the Red Friday Pep Rally for Chiefs fans and a fireworks show.
A larger portion of Friday’s event will be dedicated to the projection show located outside of Union Station, called “The Monuments Come Alive.” According to a press release from Union Station, the show will cover one city block and will stand up to 10 stories tall. This large projection show was made by Quixotic, a traveling performance group that visited K-State’s McCain Auditorium last February, and will exemplify 100 years of Union Station history. Previous residents from the Kansas City area have fond memories of Union Station and some are in disbelief at its age and compilation of history.
“My best memory there was my senior prom,” Eileen Sieck, freshman in elementary education said. “I was with all my friends dancing at Union Station and it was just really fun. It’s cool that it’s a historical building and that we get to have my high school prom there. We have been doing it for years and years; we just keep renewing our contract with them.”
The station’s official anniversary will be celebrated by a gala honoring the historic monument on Oct. 30. A formal dinner is part of scheduled events with an atmosphere reminiscent of 1914, the year that Union Station opened, according to the Union Station website.
The third event, on Oct. 31, will highlight the history of Union Station. It will be presented in a variety of different mediums, including artifacts and interactive exhibits.
The final centennial event will be a “rededication” ceremony that centers around several family-friendly activities. This event begins on Nov. 1 and will conclude on Nov. 2.
