Kansas City’s Union Station opened on Oct. 30, 1914 as the second largest train station in the U.S., with an area of over 850,000 square feet. Its architect, Jarvis Hunt, was an advocate for the City Beautiful Movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s, and designed the station in the "Beaux-Arts" style.

 

Over time the station was used less and less and was essentially closed by the mid 1980′s. Renovation began in 1997 and completed in 1999. It now houses the Kansas City Museum, Science City, and numerous other attractions.

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SLALCO restored the monumental chandeliers and wall brackets in the Grand Hall, a cavernous room with 95-foot ceilings. The chandeliers are twelve feet in diameter, forty feet in length, and weigh 3,500 pounds. Each light uses 11,400 watts, five circuits, and a half mile of wiring. Each one required its own forty-foot trailer to ship all of its sub-assemblies. A powerful "uplight" system is hidden in the outer ring of the fixture to provide even more illumination for the station's ornate ceiling. The matching wall brackets are eight feet tall and weigh 800 lbs. each. Made of iron, steel, brass, bronze and copper, the finishes were restored to their original colors.

 

Historical Lighting Consultant: Gary H. Behm, I.E.S.

Architect: Oehrlein and Associates