Union Station

Union Station is one of Canada’s finest examples of a Beaux Arts style railway station. It was designed by the same architects who designed Grand Central Terminal in New York City. The project was a joint venture, as its name reflects, between the Canadian Northern, Grand Trunk Pacific, and National Transcontinental railways and the Dominion government. A National Historic Site of Canada, Union Station is representative of Winnipeg’s importance in the development of Western Canada.

Union Station is a steel-frame structure, four storeys high in a long rectangle which runs 106 m along its facade. It is sheathed on four sides in Tyndall stone. It features an arched entrance under a massive dome, with large flanking wings in a simple plan.

The interior was designed to evoke awe. The large rotunda has four grand lunette windows within its vaulted arches which intersect with galleries leading to the office wings, up to the large centre dome four storeys above. Fine ornamental plasterwork catches the eye while ironwork, grilles, and railings also express the grandeur of the style. The terrazzo floor comes to a marble centre outlined in brass, and meets the walls with tall red marble wainscoting and apron.