Imagine Union Station hosts a  festival each year in it’s huge parking lot with food from it’s very own restaurants, an outdoor movie playing from it’s own movie theater, sales on items from it’s very own retail shops, and music from the fudgery combined with local St. Louis artists, people paddleboating around in the pond and having a great time!

What brought about this image you ask?

I recently heard that Houlihan’s in Union Station is closing it’s doors which led to reviews about the current state of Union Station. So I started reading reviews, one about the theater closing down in 2003, one about the current state of the shops that you’ll find there, and it got me thinking about how Washington Ave business is booming, with a new theater, shops, and restaurants scheduled to be added in the  Mercantile Exchange district in 2012, and other shopping districts such as The Galleria, who were suffering as well are now picking up business with popular stores such as the Apple Store and adding new stores such as Nordstrom.

Why can’t Union Station get some of that love?

I love Union Station: The Fudgery, the candy shop with hundereds of different candies in wood barrels, the pond with paddle boats, and of course the Grand Hall in the Marriott Hotel. Why are other shopping districts and downtown areas thriving while the city allows the historic Union Station to suffer?

Union Station could be a fun and lively place, not only for tourists, but for the city of St. Louis to enjoy. Here are my ideas:

Add more quality retail stores, maybe a Bath and Body Works, Old Navy, a bookstore, and an art store. Add restaurants with live music and great happy hour specials. Host entertainment events, like the Big Bang musicians could join the fudgery singers for a monthly concert and they could have New Years parties and Halloween parties in the Grand Hall.  And last, hold festivals in the Summer similar to Taste of St. Louis and Oktoberfest, where people come from all over St. Louis to participate.

Am I crazy or do you think Union Station can be saved? What suggestions would you give to get them back on track?

 

Brought to you by Mills Properties

Photos courtesy of nps.gov and google.com