Kansas City celebrates Union Station centennial

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A century after the dedication of Kansas City's Union Station drew an estimated 100,000 people, the grand edifice is preparing for centennial events this fall that officials hope will again attract massive crowds.

The future didn't always look so promising for the Beaux Arts-style depot that opened Oct. 30, 1914, as one of the two or three largest train stations in the country.

Hundreds of thousands of travelers passed through Union Station in its early years, peaking at more than 678,000 in 1945 as servicemen and women returned home from World War II. But as trains gave way to planes as a favored mode of travel in the following decades, the station fell into disuse and decay.

Anyone who hasn't visited since the mid-1990s would be startled by its vibrancy today. Thanks to a special bistate tax approved by voters in four Missouri counties and neighboring Johnson County, Kansas, Union Station has undergone a $263 million restoration and now serves as a venue for big-name traveling exhibits such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, "The Discovery of King Tut" and National Geographic's "Real Pirates" extravaganza.

The turnaround was rocky. The bistate tax revenue that paid for the renovation and 1999 reopening dwindled rapidly, leading to massive operating deficits that by 2009 prompted talk of boarding the station up and admitting defeat, The Kansas City Star reported.

The strategy of bringing in the major exhibitions, minimizing costs and leasing space to agencies such as the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas City Area Development Council have since stabilized its finances, however.

"It's a smashing success," Union Station board chairman Bob Regnier told The Star ahead of Friday night's opening centennial event -- a celebration of the station combined with a "Red Friday" concert and pep rally for the season home opener that other local institution, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Union Station ended the last four years with cash surpluses before depreciation, and there is no longer talk about seeking taxpayer support to keep the doors open.