The Union Station Arch was part of the 3rd Union Station built in Columbus and was completed in 1897. Designed by architect Daniel Burnham in the Beaux-Arts style, the arch and its accompanying arcade formed the entrance to Union Station. ;xNLx;;xNLx;The station flourished in the first half of the 20th century, but the use of automobiles and airlines superseded rail as a mode of passenger transportation in the later half of the century, leading to its decline.;xNLx;;xNLx;The arcade and the rest of the entrance was razed in October of 1976, and only this remaining arch was saved. ;xNLx;;xNLx;The arch was moved off its original site on N. High Street in 1977 to make way for the new convention center. It was reconstructed in the new Arch Park at 100 Hickory Street in 1979, but was moved again in 1999 to its current location on the north side of McFerson Commons Park in the Arena District.
The third Union Station in Columbus, which included the Daniel Burnham entrance arch and arcade, officially opened in June of 1897.
Columbus, Ohio was choses as President Woodrow Wilson’s first stop on a national tour to promote the peace treaty for WWII that would later be called the Treaty of Versailles. The President came in on a special train at 11 a.m. on September 4, 1919 and was greeted by crowds at Union Station before progressing in a motor arcade to give a speech at Memorial Hall. It was touted at the time as “the most important and most interesting day” in the history of the city.
The southern set of arches, which acted as the entrance to the station, and the part of the arcade that ran south of the entrance were razed in May of 1928 in order to make room for a larger horse shoe shaped drive that would accommodate the increased traffic.
When Amtrak took over most of the remaining passenger rail service in the country on May 1, 1971, they only had one train line—the New York–Kansas City National Limited—running through Columbus. Passenger rail service had been on a long decline since the introduction of commercial flights. The train would continue to run through Columbus for most of the decade, but took its last trip on October 1, 1979, after which the city has remained without passenger rail service.
The entrance to Union Station, which included the arcade and the Arch, was added to the National Register of Historical Places
At 6 p.m. on a Friday evening, demolition began on the Union Station arcade to make way for work on the new convention center.
Enough money, awareness, and support was raised by the Citizens for the Union Station Arch to pay the Cleveland Marble and Mosaic Co. over $72,000 to disassemble the Union Station Arch in April of 1977 and take it to an undisclosed warehouse for storage and cleaning until a new site could be found on which to erect it.
The Union Station Arch was reassembled on the grounds of the city’s new Arch Park at 100 W. Hickory Blvd in downtown Columbus.
The new site for the Union Station Arch, Arch Park, was officially dedicated.
The Union Station Arch was moved from Arch Park to the new Arena District, less than .2 miles away.
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