Across the country, Union stations are seeing multimillion-dollar makeovers in hopes of preserving history and providing hot spots for tourists and locals. With recent trips to St. Louis and Nashville, I found myself wandering the areas around both cities’ Union stations.

Like many former train depots of their day, both structures have been converted into hotels, with the most distinguished elements preserved and restored. I found each location fascinating in its own right.

St. Louis
St. Louis’s Union Station is straight out of the Gilded Age, with the original structure opening back in 1894. The first renovations on the building were scheduled in preparation for the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. By World War II, Union Station in St. Louis was the hub of middle America, moving more than 2 million passengers a day including soldiers, celebrities and sports icons. In the 1970s the building was designated a National Historic Landmark.

By the mid-’80s the train station was transformed into a hotel, and today the area has been rejuvenated with St. Louis Aquarium, a Ferris wheel, carousel and koi pond, along with many other shops and restaurants nearby.

I walked into Grand Hall Lounge of the St. Louis Union Station Hotel, Curio Collection by Hilton simply on a whim. To my amazement, Grand Hall Lounge was as lovely as the name implies, and I captured photographs from every angle possible. I also enjoyed lunch at Station Grille. Originally a Fred Harvey restaurant, Station Grille’s food was current and upscale, while the décor harkened back toward classic train travel.

Nashville
My Nashville Union Station experience was a bit different. With less time on my agenda, I asked the valet about the hotel before walking in. Elliot gave me a quick rundown of what to see but also cautioned me, saying the hotel was haunted, with one of the guests experiencing some paranormal activity earlier in the week.

Maybe his words set me up to draw the conclusion, but the great room at Union Station Nashville did feel haunted. Dating back to 1900, Nashville’s Union Station boasts Al Capone’s transport to Atlanta as one of its most notorious passengers. Perhaps I sensed something from his trip.

Apart from the eerie feeling, the Romanesque-Revival-style architecture of Nashville’s Union Station is incredible — and distinctly different from St. Louis. The Gothic exterior of Nashville’s Union Station sets a completely different tone, and the soaring ceilings inside are dwarfed by three enormous chandeliers.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 1969, Nashville’s Union Station is now The Union Station Nashville Yards, Autograph Collection. With more time I would’ve loved a quick appetizer or martini inside the hotel’s restaurant and lounge.

While St. Louis has created a fun and light-hearted tourist area around its Union Station, the up-and-coming community around Nashville Yards is still on the rise (set for completion in 2025). With numerous other Union stations across the country similarly renovated, I’m sure these kinds of quick “whistle stops” in St. Louis and Nashville won’t be my last.

— Carrie Cox, account executive