The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program each month sponsors a Sandwiching in History tour which familiarize people who live and work in central Arkansas with the historic structures and sites around us. The tours take place on Fridays at noon, last less than an hour, and participants are encouraged to bring their lunches so that they can eat while listening to a brief lecture about the property and its history before proceeding on a short tour.

Today at 12 noon, this month’s tour is the Union Station at 1400 West Markham.  It was constructed in 1921 to replace an earlier depot which burned in 1920.  Since the 1870s there has been a railroad station on or near this site.

The current structure was designed by architect E. M. Tucker of St. Louis and exhibits elements of the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The Missouri Pacific Railroad acquired the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad in 1917 and continued passenger service out of this depot until 1970.

Union Station was a bustling place in its heyday, serving as the point of departure for soldiers leaving Camp Robinson during World War II as well as a whistle stop during Harry S. Truman’s presidential campaign. The building is currently used as office and event space as well as the local Amtrak station.

The Arkansas Historic Preservation Program is an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.