Train stations were once the centrepieces of many US cities. After decades of neglect, many places are now reviving them in new, creative ways. The trains don't stop at Union Pacific Depot anymore.
So a hotel, the Asher Adams , was built within the former train station in Salt Lake City, Utah, and opened in October 2024. Refreshed with white and gilt detailing and long wooden benches interspersed with plush seats, the resulting space pulls a bit of a mind trick: are you lingering in a lobby or waiting for a train to arrive? The Asher Adams is just one of a spate of recently restored train stations across the US that are being reclaimed as hotels, restaurants, museums and more. From the late 1800s through the 1920s, many of the US's railway barons built grand train stations.
These palaces not only testify to the " golden age of American railroading ", but serve as a reminder of how the rapid growth of rail travel following the US Civil War helped settle the US West and transform the once-largely rural nation to a coast-to-coast collection of cities. As automobiles and, later, planes became more fashionable than trains, many of these railways consolidated or stopped running, leaving these once-bustling centrepieces of urban life empty. Some stations burned down.
Others were demolished. But over the past decade, cities have been finding creative ways to breathe new life into the historic structures, helping them regain their cultural cachet while offering travellers an intriguin.