They are open! The new light rail and mall shuttle stations opened for business early this morning. I took the following two photos at about 5:50 A.M.
I will provide more coverage later today with photos (and perhaps a video) of the VIP train and the ceremonies.
I went down there this morning for the grand opening. The official “Mayor Train” arrived about 7:40 am, but there were trains running before that. The station looks nice. It’s clean and even smells new!
This was a major milestone for Denver Union Station.
I uploaded some photos to YouTube of the grand opening this morning. To view the video, click on this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YO35q1OdiM
Sweet! Let the future begin 🙂
I enjoy seeing the progress of DUS. I wanted to share this link it’s on the renovation of London’s King Cross Station. Maybe someone at Denver Infill will do a comparison.
http://inhabitat.com/photos-amazing-renovation-of-kings-cross-station-new-western-concourse-in-progress/
ginty: thanks for sharing this link. I’m a huge fan of railway stations and love seeing old stations turning themselves into “new” stations. The photos/renderings of King’s Cross station are amazing. How does it compare to Denver Union Station? I don’t know. Two completely different projects, but interesting, all the same, to see projects like these unfold and take shape.
Thanks again.
Completely different projects? With out a doubt you could come up with a nice Venn Diagram, right?
Now that the new station is open, any chance on seeing a post on what to expect construction wise at the station over the next couple of months?
W,
I’ll work on getting details from official sources. In the meantime, my quick answer for the next two months goes like this. Lots of work will be going on inside the bus terminal. I will request another underground tour in late-September or early-October and provide an update and photos. Also, excavation will rev up behind Union Station. It will resemble the large scale excavation that we witnessed on the Riverfront Park side of Wewatta last year. Once they have removed underground infrastructure (pipes, conduit, etc), Kiewit will probably re-employ the conveyor system and built another huge pile of dirt which I believe will be alongside 16th Street. Also, the “other” side of 16th Street will be paved and opened to traffic. In 4Q2011, you will start to see some private development on the site.
Really impressed to see everything ramping up again so quickly. Realistically, how long do you think the bus station will take considering winter weather coming soon? I will be down there the third full week of November – fall break – and I really want to take a tour of DUS if one is scheduled with my family.
Brennan, the second half of the bus terminal will probably take a year to get it to match the first half. The whole bus terminal won’t be completed until 2014.
Regarding the tour, we do our DenverInfill/Union Station Advocates tours the first and third Saturdays of each month. Watch the blog for confirmation a day or two before the Saturday in question.
“In 4Q2011, you will start to see some private development on the site.”
Are you referring to the wing buildings? Or the triangle parcel?
Or better yet…is there something we haven’t heard about yet??
Dan, yes I am mostly referring to the wing buildings which probably won’t start until 1Q2012. However, I hear unconfirmed rumors of additional, private development. We’ll see.