Union Station Denver
Name of Building
Union Station Denver
Town or City, Country where the building was originally established
Denver, Colorado
Date the building was designed and/or first built
Years: Original Built – 1881. Reopened after fire in 1914. Revised in 2012, Reopened in 2014
Name of Architect, Builder, or Primary Patron Responsible
Founder(s): Architect - William E. Taylor. 1912 expansion by Gove and Walsh
Builder - William E. Taylor
Builder - William E. Taylor
Culturally Specific Time Period
Victorian in America
Geo-Location
39.752137647614596, -105.00058228280739
Materials
Rough-faced pink-gray rhyolite from Castle Rock and pale gray sandstone trim from Morrison sheathed the original Second Empire edifice.
Size and/or Scale of Building
From left to right, it is 880 feet long. Building Height: 70 feet Number of Stories: 3
Architectural Type
Public
Formal Style
Exterior: Beaux-Arts style. Revitalized in the Beaux-Arts Renaissance Revival mode in 1912.
Building Description
Denver Union Station presents a blend of Romanesque Revival and Beaux-Arts architecture, with its rough volcanic-stone 1881 wings and the grand 1914 central hall featuring tall arched windows, ornate stonework, and the iconic “UNION STATION” sign, all of which frame a structure that has shifted from a classic rail hub to a mixed-use civic landmark. Inside, the historic Great Hall—once filled with wooden benches, marble walls, and early chandeliers—was restored in 2014 into a bright, flexible public living room with terrazzo floors, decorative plaster arches, and lighting inspired by the originals, now functioning as both the social heart of the city and the lobby of The Crawford Hotel. Over time, the station transitioned from its heavily altered mid-20th-century decline to a revitalized centerpiece, with its stonework repaired, windows reopened, interior grandeur reinstated, and modern amenities integrated to support restaurants, retail, hospitality, and multimodal transit while preserving the building’s historic character.
Names(s) and location(s) of the museum holding the object(s)
A historic train station that was redeveloped into a complex with hotels, restaurants, and shops.
Creative Commons or other copyright information
Image 1: Creative Commons
Image 2: Creative Commons
Image 3: Creative Commons
Image 4: Creative Commons
Image 5: Creative Commons
Image 2: Creative Commons
Image 3: Creative Commons
Image 4: Creative Commons
Image 5: Creative Commons
Student First and Last Name
Justin Forster
Citation
Founder(s): Architect - William E. Taylor. 1912 expansion by Gove and Walsh
Builder - William E. Taylor, “Union Station Denver,” World Architecture, accessed June 28, 2026, https://worldarchitecture.artinterp2.org/items/show/164.
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