Union Station

[smh]

What's in the Pershing building now?

I seem to remember hearing at one point that Shook used part of it for storage...

[trailerkid]

Pershing bldg would also make a ton of sense for upscale, Plaza-style condos.

[FangKC]

The tenants of the Pershing Building include City Bakery (started out baking bread products for City Tavern--it's located in the area designed for the swimming pool), Children's Mercy Hospital Health Partners, UMKC Institute for Human Development, the Associated Press, Metzler Brothers Insurance, Schermerhorn Law Firm, Sharing Our Strengths (SOS) Peer Support Network, Truman Medical Center Family Health Partners, People First of Missouri, Inc., and Missouri Developmental Disability Resource Center.

It was home to BMA Business Men's Assurance before they built the tower at 31st and Southwest Trafficway.

One of Kansas City, Missouri's first radio stations (WHB-AM) broadcast from studios in the building in the early days of commercial broadcasting.

There are 385 dedicated parking spaces at the Pershing Building, and it is 66 percent occupied.

http://www.svn.com/aspx/pws/Template2/d ... anID=73519

[Midtownkid]

I've been into the offices of Metzler Brother's.  The views are amazing, obviously.  Union Station seems even bigger when seeing it though their windows.  I think the building looked better with the old fashioned style windows as opposed to the single plate glass ones they now have.  (Same deal with the Plaza's buildings).  They now make double hung windows that are just as efficient.  I hope they use those in the next renovation.

[trailerkid]

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but is Union Cafe open or closed? No mention of it at all on the US web site. I was under the impression PB+J was going to run it and there is a Yelp review dating back to August. PB+J needs to be taken off the assignment for it to work. I've gotta imagine that if Pierpont's does a good business in spite of its location I'm guessing Union Cafe could as well if it was similar to Westport Cafe & Bar. Having a very popular dining room at Union Cafe would do wonder to making Union Station appear more active.

[Midtownkid]

Wow, a lot of the historic pictures of KC make the city look nicer, but those do not!  That grass was scrubby.  That whole area seems better off now.

[shinatoo]

Really makes you appreciate trees and how long they take to really develop a area.

[KCMax]

Excuse me if this has already been covered, but is Union Cafe open or closed? No mention of it at all on the US web site. I was under the impression PB+J was going to run it and there is a Yelp review dating back to August. PB+J needs to be taken off the assignment for it to work. I've gotta imagine that if Pierpont's does a good business in spite of its location I'm guessing Union Cafe could as well if it was similar to Westport Cafe & Bar. Having a very popular dining room at Union Cafe would do wonder to making Union Station appear more active.

Last time I was there (a few weeks ago) it was open.

[Major KC Fan]

Was at Union Station today with family and the place was packed--lots of visiting holiday families and their guests.  The Union Cafe was totally packed as well.  I eat lunch there about once a month and it's always busy at that time. 

What's sad is that if we really utilized the station for transportation (like light rail and increased bus transfers) it would help keep the place busy throughout the year.  The traveling dinosaur exhibit also continues to pack them in, so booking great exhibits should continue to be a smart marketing strategy for the station.

[redperro]

union station and grand central station were big stations, so much historyyy

[DaveKCMO]

What's sad is that if we really utilized the station for transportation (like light rail and increased bus transfers) it would help keep the place busy throughout the year.  The traveling dinosaur exhibit also continues to pack them in, so booking great exhibits should continue to be a smart marketing strategy for the station.

as obvious as this is to most people, it proves how woefully retarded our leadership has been since the place was renovated. maybe we'll be where Denver is in 10 years -- a complete transit-oriented makeover of their station is in progress -- but I doubt it.

the sad thing is that it would be a total shoe-in for federal funding.

[LenexatoKCMO]

Not much use in having a transit hub when you don't really have a transit system. 

[KC-wildcat]

Not much use in having a transit hub when you don't really have a transit system. 

If you build it, they will come...

[LenexatoKCMO]

If you build it, they will come...

In their car. 

[DaveKCMO]

Not much use in having a transit hub when you don't really have a transit system. 

a common misperception. there's plenty of transit downtown, it's simply scattered about and not apparent. local buses will work when you put them front and center, and that's a big part of our problem. intercity travel (amtrak/greyhound/megabus) is also scattered about, with no visibility.

[LenexatoKCMO]

a common misperception. there's plenty of transit downtown, it's simply scattered about and not apparent.

With infrequent service covering but a tiny fraction of our sprawly metro, leaving it grossly inefficient and ineffective for the vast majority of the population - including most DT workers. 

[aknowledgeableperson]

If you build it, they will come...

A NBA nor a NHL team has yet to make the SC a home since it was built.

[LenexatoKCMO]

A NBA nor a NHL team has yet to make the SC a home since it was built.

I lay a lot better odds of that coming true in my lifetime than I would for KC ever developing a transit system that's of practical use to more than a few percent of the population. 

[KC-wildcat]

A NBA nor a NHL team has yet to make the SC a home since it was built.

It was an (apparently futile) attempt at humor.  I suppose I should veil my sarcasm a bit more thinly next time? 

[trailerkid]

With infrequent service covering but a tiny fraction of our sprawly metro, leaving it grossly inefficient and ineffective for the vast majority of the population - including most DT workers.  

huh? i use transit all the time in KC and have yet to have any sort of problem on the Missouri side (including evening service at KCI). it works fine if you actually use it instead of being a lazy ass.