Union Depot

In the 1860s, the West Bottoms was the up and coming place to be in Kansas City. At one point, more than 90 percent of the city’s value belonged to the West Bottoms, which included the meatpackers and agriculture stockyards. Before the locals knew it, the city needed a new railroad station to keep the area successful. Thus, Union Depot, located on Union Ave., was built. On April 7, 1878, Union Depot opened with high-end offices, clean restrooms, and luxurious woodwork through the building. However, the station was soon lovingly referred to as “Kansas City’s Insane Asylum” due to its Gothic and Victorian design with high arches, towers and extreme details. The locals weren’t too off the mark; the builder of the Union Depot built a real “insane asylum” in Topeka, Kan., years later. Was the builder trying to tell the train-riders something? Probably not, but you never know. The great flood of 1903 all but ruined the Union Depot. Soon the depot closed and a new, more timeless Union Station opened on higher ground in 1914 at 30 W. Pershing Rd.