Union Station (Portland)

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Union Station - Portland, Oregon

Address	800 NW Sixth Ave. Portland, Oregon 97209
Routes	Cascades - Empire Builder - Coast Starlight
Code	PDX
Owned by	Portland Development Commission

Union Station is a train station near the west shore of the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, United States, in Old Town Chinatown.

Construction of the station began in 1890. It was built by Northern Pacific Terminal Company at a cost of $300,000, and opened on February 14, 1896. The signature piece of the structure is the 150 ft. tall clock tower. A "Go By Train" neon sign was added to it after World War II.

The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [1]

Besides serving as an Amtrak station, the building contains offices on the upper floors, as well as Wilf's Restaurant and Piano Bar on the ground level. It also has Amtrak's only Metropolitan Lounge (reserved for first-class passengers) on the West Coast.

Southeast of the station, the tracks make a sharp turn and cross the river on the historic Steel Bridge. To the northwest, they follow the river, passing through rail yards before crossing the river again on the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge 5.1.

Union Station serves as a transportation hub for Portland. Portland's Greyhound bus station is the next building to the south. The Portland transit mall was extended to the station in the early 1990s, providing local TriMet bus (and, in the future, light rail) service to points in the Portland region. The stops are in Fareless Square, so trips to downtown are free. In addition, it is only a short walk to the Portland Streetcar, which provides service to the Pearl District or south through downtown to Riverplace.

In the 1980s, ownership of the station and surrounding land was transferred to the Portland Development Commission. Shortly afterwards, Union Station underwent a renovation. It was rededicated in 1996.

In 2004, the roadway in front of the station was redone, providing a new connection to the northwest and a forecourt. In addition, the area is being redeveloped, including new housing where railroad tracks once were.