| Union Station
Just minutes from the Capitol, Union Station contains over 125
stores, an immense food court and a nine-screen movie complex. The restored beaux-arts
structure still serves as Washington’s main train station.
Minutes away from the Capitol, the Postal Museum and the Capital
Children’s Museum, Union Station is a popular stop on the monument trail. Since it
also serves as Washington’s main train station, Union Station is constantly bustling
with commuters and tourists.
The construction of Union Station in 1908 was one of the first
improvements made to the District of Colombia by the McMillan Commission, a committee
charged with cleaning up and redesigning Washington. Modeled after the Roman Baths of
Diocletian, Union Station has a 96-ft-high gilded ceiling and forty-six statues of Roman
soldiers (one for each state when the station was built) both inside and outside the
station.
Initially a great success, the eventual decline in train travel during the
‘60’s left the station in a state of disrepair until it was completely
refurbished in 1988. The new Union Station contains 133 shops, five restaurants, a
46-vendor food court and a nine-screen movie complex.
Union Station is the ideal place for a visitor to have lunch. The food
court will satisfy any appetite, while the beautifully restored main waiting room offers
plenty of places to sit and plan your afternoon. Some of Washington’s more popular
sightseeing tours like Tourmobile and Red Trolley Tours originate in front of Union
Station.
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