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Denver Union Station wins design-build award
An award for completely ignoring the historical context of the existing structure?" Moderne" architecture changes from decade to decade…ie Art Deco, etc…This design will eventually fall out of favor. A classical design matching the existing structure would have been a better bet. This is like the academy awards the industry players awarding industry players. Users should be the judge as Eric says.
Meanwhile, stand near the Amtrak crew members when you’re on the Cal Zephyr and listen to the steady stream of complaints about what a lousy set-up it is.
Whoever decided to convert the Union Station into a bowling alley/cow corral should be hung by their nipples. For train travelers, including me, Union Station was a grand way to arrive at, and leave Denver. I wonder why they didn’t move the rooftop sign to an amusement park! A pox on those who tear down marvelous old buildings to make a parking lot. What’s next, the magnificent Paramount theatre down the street?!!
Blocking the view of a historic building with a huge, useless and distractingly ugly train shed, is an insult to the history of Denver. http://railroadglorydays.com/UnionStation/NorthSide.jpg
In terms of Amtrak it’s no longer a station; it’s a terminal, as there’s no provision (extremely short sighted in my view) for passenger trains to pass through the station any more. The Zephyr backs in, then pulls out on the same track. If there ever are passenger trains again along the Front Range, Denver Union Terminal will be useless. Obviously the developers ignored the lessons of Pennsylvania Station’s destruction. They should have looked at St. Paul or Albany-Rennselaer for what could have been.
Does anyone besides me notice the critics of DUS are from out of state?? Be glad, guys, that DUT is preserved in the first place! Denver once had a mayor who wanted to level the structure, but disgustingly found out there is no where else in town for Amtrak to stop! Come, look at it today, it is marvelous reconstruction! To Jonathan M., no, trains “cannot pass through,” – headed south to no where. Denver has a stub-end station and it will benefit all travelers in the future.
I just spent several hours at DUT and it sure looks nice. The station design could have been better done by high schoolers! You either have to walk to the end of the terminal and all the way around or go down one level and come back up again to get to your Amtrak train. I think the whole platform has only two benches to sit on. What a joke to think that they will be receiving an award!
First and foremost, the DUS remodel is a real estate deal, not a railroad facility rebuild. The key features at DUS are the new upscale hotels, restaurants, and condos. These, plus the underground bus terminal, are what draw the people, not a daily late running Amtrak train. So keep this context in mind when you read the comments of others. Note that the LRT terminal is now about a quarter mile west of DUS; before the DUS re-model, LRT trains ran into DUS. In a couple of years, SEPTA-like electric MUs will be running to the airport and into the northern suburbs. Income from the restaurants, shops, and hotels will help the cash-starved RTD stay afloat.