June the Coach Rider
OBS Chief
That is going to be a beautiful station when finished. I will enjoy seeing it in July when I am there.
Update on Seattle King Street Station Restoration
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B
Bus Nut
Guest
Hate the confusing queue-up but love the seat assignment. No worries about fighting your way on board, no getting yelled at by a conductor that you're boarding the wrong car, no sweat. Love. it.
The main waiting room is almost ready for re-opening. I took some quick pictures this morning. The rumor is that there will be a press event on April 21, and that the main waiting room will be open to the public by the end of the month.
Good! That will give them a couple of months to get it broken in good by the time I get there at the end of June.
Big Green Chauvanist
Service Attendant
I went on a tour of the space the other day, led by the project manager herself. I took some nice photos, but she asked us not to post them until opening day, as the city has its own photographers and videographers whose work appears on that link I usually include. As much as I wanted to post them, I felt I had to honor her request. This past Wednesday, the floor was almost devoid of construction material. Most of the plaster work is finished. Still some touching up on the original mosaic tile floor and some light fixtures have yet to be installed. I specifically asked about an arrivals/departures display board and seating. Nothing would mar this magnificent renovation more than that tacky, felt tripod display stand used heretofore. Also the worn, joined-together naugahyde seats, in place for years up until the renovation began. The project manager said those items were up to Amtrak to deal with, not part of the city's renovation project. We'll see. The former Women's Lounge, off to the side of the main waiting room, is being left undone for now. Hopefully Amtrak will see fit to make it into a first/business class lounge.
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N
Nathanael
Guest
It's beautiful.
I have to say I have mixed feelings about this project. The result is truly lovely and will last for many decades.
However, they practically reconstructed the station from scratch. It cost an enormous amount. Usually, reuse and restoration of grand old buildings is the efficient, money-saving thing to do in the long run. In this case, it really wasn't; it was an extremely costly project, thanks mostly to the earthquake retrofitting. It's less a restoration than a reconstruction.
I have to say I have mixed feelings about this project. The result is truly lovely and will last for many decades.
However, they practically reconstructed the station from scratch. It cost an enormous amount. Usually, reuse and restoration of grand old buildings is the efficient, money-saving thing to do in the long run. In this case, it really wasn't; it was an extremely costly project, thanks mostly to the earthquake retrofitting. It's less a restoration than a reconstruction.
Acela150
Super Buff
Looks a ton better then when I was there in 2007.
Aaron
Lead Service Attendant
Yes, and how's the usefulness of the new station? (I don't know having never been there.) I hope it's very useful as a train station and transportation hub, since that's it main purpose. I love these old train stations, and I'm happy they're being restored, but what I love more is being able to use transportation efficiently. If a new station can be built for less money (or even more money) that also works better for the intended purpose, I think we should think long and hard about whether an old station is truly worth saving.
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Well, from the pictures,it is obvious the train gates along the south wall were restored (left side of the picture), so there is more capacity and flexibility. Those gates were hidden behind the old ticket counter and baggage claim. There were only two gates left before the remodel, IIRC, one on the east wall and one on the south wall. Well, maybe 2 on the east wall. They can use the additional gates (along with the corresponding station stub tracks, which have been rehabbed) with the increasing Cascades service.
Also, the waiting room is bigger, with the shift of the ticket counter and baggage claim out of the waiting room, and opening up the space beyond the columns on the right side of the picture. That area was closed off by a wall before. The waiting room can use the space, it could get pretty crowded in there.
It looks like they are going back to something like the original plan of the building, which is good because they knew how to design efficient rail terminals back then (I seem to recall it was designed by the same firm that designed Grand Central Terminal).
I do hope they don't put those black plastic seats back in.
When GN/NP "modernized" the station back in the 60s, the result was b*tt-ugly mess. I remember going into Union Station across the street and wishing that was the terminal that had survived in rail service instead of King Street, since it hadn't been "modernized" and the restoration (thanks, Mr. Allen) is beautiful. I never expected to see King Street restored to its glory and was resigned to its cramped waiting room, acoustic tile drop ceiling, florescent lights, and generally grimy appearance. It looked good from the outside but looked like an aging 1964 bus station inside.
I do miss the neon "Electric Stairs to Jackson Street" sign though.
Also, the waiting room is bigger, with the shift of the ticket counter and baggage claim out of the waiting room, and opening up the space beyond the columns on the right side of the picture. That area was closed off by a wall before. The waiting room can use the space, it could get pretty crowded in there.
It looks like they are going back to something like the original plan of the building, which is good because they knew how to design efficient rail terminals back then (I seem to recall it was designed by the same firm that designed Grand Central Terminal).
I do hope they don't put those black plastic seats back in.
When GN/NP "modernized" the station back in the 60s, the result was b*tt-ugly mess. I remember going into Union Station across the street and wishing that was the terminal that had survived in rail service instead of King Street, since it hadn't been "modernized" and the restoration (thanks, Mr. Allen) is beautiful. I never expected to see King Street restored to its glory and was resigned to its cramped waiting room, acoustic tile drop ceiling, florescent lights, and generally grimy appearance. It looked good from the outside but looked like an aging 1964 bus station inside.
I do miss the neon "Electric Stairs to Jackson Street" sign though.
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yarrow
Engineer
i'm still hoping they might have saved it. for a museum if not the station
Fantastic Charlie! Hopefully Amtrak can spend some Money on Furniture and Amenities and Create a First Class Lounge in this Jewel! I hope to see it in October when I take the "Short" way home from CHI to AUS!!! ozbuc
Train Attendant
Can't wait to see it.
Absolutely, stunningly beautiful. I honestly wish I had a justifiable reason for booking a ticket to Seattle in order to be one of the first to use this amazing piece of public treasure.
I can only hope Sacramento gets halfway as magnificent as Seattle in terms of the redevelopment.
I can only hope Sacramento gets halfway as magnificent as Seattle in terms of the redevelopment.
June the Coach Rider
OBS Chief
I look forward to seeing it in July, I hope it still has the "new car smell" when I am there then.
J
JJ a friend of Rocky
Guest
There a number of important reasons why King Street Station was important to restore.
1. It's a registered landmark in the midst of a historic district - therefore it couldn't legitimately be bulldozed.
2. It is one of a very few significant historic public buildings left in Seattle from this era: St. James Cathedral, the Smith Tower, the New Washington Hotel
3. It really is the only place to have a rail station in Seattle without putting it in the far south end. It is located close many other transportation connections.
For these three reasons, the best option was to restore and indeed reconstruct. They could have of course put modern finishes in the building but I suspect the cost differential would not have been that much and they would have soon looked as dated and inappropriate as the 1960's renovation.
I think they did an outstanding and important job in preserving it. Kudos to SDOT who had the lead, the mayors office under Nickels for securing part of the funding, WSDOT for doing much of the early leg work and securing most of the funding and Amtrak and the FRA for their work as well. It will be much more functional and beautiful at the same time.
Nahhhh, let's tear it down and build something modern, we want something that is as attractive and functional for passengers as Penn Station [/sarcasm]
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D T Nelson
Lead Service Attendant
The Seattle DOT King Street Station web page today has this news:
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND
the Grand Reopening of
King Street Station’s Main Waiting Room
Wednesday, April 24, 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Main Waiting Room, King Street Station, South King Street and Third Avenue South
Remarks by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and other distinguished guests
Please let us know if you plan to attend by
e-mailing [email protected].
YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO ATTEND
the Grand Reopening of
King Street Station’s Main Waiting Room
Wednesday, April 24, 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Main Waiting Room, King Street Station, South King Street and Third Avenue South
Remarks by Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and other distinguished guests
Please let us know if you plan to attend by
e-mailing [email protected].
N
Nathanael
Guest
All right. Justified on its own merits as a historic restoration project, so why not keep using it as the train station. Makes sense.
Notelvis
Conductor
Yeah - let's put it in the basement of a new basketball arena so maybe the NBA will come back to Seattle too.......
BUT SERIOUSLY - the recent photos from King Street Station are stunning. So much nicer than the 7 or 8 trips I've made through King Street Station dating back to 1989.
I am hopeful that we will make a family visit to see old friends in Portland this summer and that I'll have a chance to Talgo up to Seattle to check this out for myself. Heck - an early look at airfare suggests that it is several hundered dollars cheaper for a family of 3 going in and out of Seattle. We might just do that and all Talgo down to Portland and back.
Wow, it's so nice to see this. Here's the "before" picture:
Notelvis
Conductor
That before picture - Ughhhhhh.......
And it looked worse the first time I ever saw it........ arriving from Denver on the Pioneer after dark on a rainy evening in 1989.
And it looked worse the first time I ever saw it........ arriving from Denver on the Pioneer after dark on a rainy evening in 1989.
Looking at that before picture reminds me that Seattle was famous for Grunge. Having seen the renovated photos I'm anxious to see it in person in late May - what a change.
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