This book will describe the Union Pacific Railroad's design, construction, and operation of its eight successive Omaha passenger stations of the later nineteenth century, and two different Union Passenger Stations, built in 1899 and 1931 respectively. An end summary will also describe historic preservation efforts from 1973 to the present that saved the 1931 Union Station from destruction and helped make possible its use as the Durham Western Heritage Museum beginning in 1975.
Omaha was once the nation's fourth largest railroad center and the 1931 Omaha Union Station was built in part to satisfy the demands of local businessmen and the increasing public demand for improved passenger train service to the city. Chapters cover the time period from Omaha before the railroads up to the present use of the station.
Contents: Acknowledgements, Introduction, pp. 2-6, Omaha's Railroad Palace, pp. 7-10, Omaha Before the Railroads, pp. 11-12, Omaha's First Passenger Depots, pp. 13-22, Omaha's 1899 Union Station, pp. 23-36, The Decision for a New Union Station, pp. 37-47, Gilbert Stanley Underwood by Thorton Waite, pp. 48-50, Architectural Gem, pp. 51-62, Epilogue: From Union Station to Western Heritage, pp. 63-80, Bibliography, pp. 81-84.
South Platte Press, softcover, 84 pages, standard portrait book 8 x 10 in., B&W photographs, diagrams and maps.