6 Most Impressive Historic Train Station Restorations in the U.S.

Between the mid-19th century and the mid-20th century, trains drove the U.S.’s growth like no other force. By 1881, the country had 100,000 miles of railways — 20 years later, that number had doubled. This was the golden age of historic train stations in the U.S.

Around the time of the second World War, the train landscape was changing dramatically. As more car-based infrastructure was built and Americans became more and more dependent on car travel rather than train travel, ridership steadily declined. By 1975, the owners of a quarter of the country’s trackage had filed for bankruptcy. The huge, opulent train stations of the Gilded Age that represented the booming economy of the time fell into disrepair. Some were demolished, like the original Penn Station was in the 1960s.

But recent years have told a different story. Not only did Amtrak record its highest year of ridership ever in 2024, but developers have also breathed new life into some of these crumbling historic buildings. Some have been repurposed into hotels or office buildings, some remain open to (booming) passenger service, and some are a combination of the two — active stations with restaurants, vendors, hotels, and museums sharing the space. Read on for some of the most ambitious, high-profile, and successful train station restorations in the U.S. in recent years.

Built at the height of the Great Depression, Cincinnati Union Terminal underwent a three-year, $228 million renovation in the 2010s, restoring the terminal to its pre-war glory and winning a Traditional Building Palladio Award. The Art Deco palace’s showpiece is its main rotunda with soaring 106-foot ceilings, bands of yellow and gold, mosaic murals on the walls, and a tiered fountain out front.

After the station closed to passenger train service in 1972, it fell into disrepair — the structure had major water damage, cracks throughout the exterior, and plenty of broken light fixtures. In 2014, the National Trust for Historic Preservation included the station on their list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places; later that year, citizens passed a tax levy to raise funds for the restoration. The project was ongoing from 2016 to 2018, and the team included John G. Waite Associates, GBBN Architects, and Turner Construction Company. Much of the extensive restoration work went unseen since it was structural. The station has provided Amtrak service since 1991, and the building also houses the Cincinnati Museum Center.

One of the most recent major train station restorations, Michigan Central Station reopened in 2024 after an extensive six-year renovation. It’s no longer an active train station — the last train pulled out in 1988 — but the Ford Motor Company purchased the Beaux-Arts building in 2018 and breathed new life into it. Now known as Michigan Central, the building is a technology and cultural hub in Detroit’s Corktown neighborhood, with offices and labs for tenants like Ford, Electreon, and CODE313. It retains its classical façade, ornate interiors, and 54-foot Guastavino tile vaulted ceiling.

Central Michigan Station first opened in 1913, designed by the architects behind Grand Central: Warren & Wetmore and Reed & Stem. The restoration team included Quinn Evans Architects and Christman/Brinker as the joint venture construction contractor, along with plenty of other specialists like John Goodrow Sr. of Capital Stoneworks, who spent 428 hours carving an ornate replica capital for one of the entrance’s Corinthian columns. Other re-creations included three massive chandeliers in the Waiting Room and Grand Hall. The restoration team even curated and saved some of the building’s graffiti art.

First built in 1881, Denver Union Station saw as many as 50,000 passengers a day at its height. It underwent a $54 million renovation completed in 2014, and another renovation was completed in 2024, overhauling the station’s cocktail bar, meeting and event space, and 112-room Crawford Hotel. The 143-year-old landmark remains a transit hub, seeing over 10,000 people pass through daily. And it’s been reimagined for modern life — it has service for Denver’s local bus, light rail, and Amtrak lines (the California Zephyr passes through), along with coffee shops, bars, restaurants, and shops.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) took the helm on the 2014 restoration, transforming 20 acres of former rail yards into a major transportation center in Denver’s historic Lower Downtown. Not only was the original Beaux-Arts building restored, but the renovation also included a new iconic swooping canopy structure spanning 180 feet over the train platforms, an underground bus terminal, and an expansion of the pedestrian network to incorporate the station into the surrounding area.

One of the busiest rail stations in the country, Chicago’s Union Station sees over 100,000 commuters daily. Designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White and originally completed in 1925, the building’s Great Hall had extensive leakage issues as early as the ‘30s. After decades of band-aid solutions, the Great Hall’s skylight was restored in a project that took 42 months, cost $22 million, and was completed in 2019.

Led by Goettsch Partners, the Union Station Great Hall renovation had two parts — first, the original skylight was restored to preserve the building’s historical integrity. Then, a second, modern skylight was built five feet above the original. Not only did this make the hall 60% more energy efficient — it also allowed the band-aids to come off the original skylight to let in 50% more light. Contractor Bergland Construction then restored the hall’s damaged plaster, paint, and interior ornamentation. Previous restorations of the train station included a 2016 renovation of the great staircases and the 2011 introduction of A/C.

Grand Central Station, one of the country’s architectural (and cultural) icons, wasn’t always so grand — in the ‘70s, following the decline of rail travel, it was almost demolished. But in the ‘90s, the station was restored to its former glory with a renovation that cost a whopping $250 million and took from 1990 to 1998 to complete.

The restoration cleaned decades of grime and soot from the building’s exterior and interior ceilings, filled cracks in the ceiling that had caused leaks for years, and removed remaining blackout paint from the station’s windows. The quarry in Tennessee that supplied the original stone was reopened and a second grand staircase was built, the painted skyscape on the main concourse ceiling was restored, and a 4,000-pound cast iron eagle from the original facade was donated back to the station. The restoration also doubled Grand Central’s retail space.

Seattle’s King Street Station has come a long way since 2008 when the city purchased it for $10. Initially opened in 1906, the station was built in the “Railroad Italianate” style. And while it had fallen into disrepair since the mid-20th century along with most other grand railway stations in the country, it has never stopped operating — even during the extensive restoration that was completed by ZGF Architects in 2013, costing $55 million.

Primary among the renovation’s improvements included reversing a handful of changes made in the ‘60s to “modernize” the station. A drop ceiling that had been installed ten feet below the original ornate decorative ceiling was removed, also revealing some covered-up balconies. The team also removed the exterior escalator, and recreated the removed ornate plasterwork. They also invisibly reinforced the building with steel to protect it from earthquakes.