Travelogue: St. Louis 2021

Union Station at Christmastime with Nostalgia for 19th Century Americanism

America’s mid-country gateway to the West, St. Louis, Missouri, was a vital center for trade, railroad transportation and Westward expansion, discovery and exploration. I’ve visited the Mississippi River city a few times, including taking rides up and down the Arch. This year’s trip involved a short stay downtown at Union Station.

Hilton’s deal with the city’s Union Station, branded under Hilton’s Curio landmark properties hotels, features a beautiful restoration of the original train station, which ran trains from 1:45pm on September 1, 1894 until 11:38pm on October 31, 1978. At one point, Union Station was one of the largest and busiest passenger rail terminals in the world. For this fan of train travel and Ayn Rand’s transcontinental railroad-themed Atlas Shrugged, a stay at the railroad terminal hotel was an absolute thrill.

Curio’s St. Louis Union Station hotel does not disappoint. With its industrial origins (besides appearances by Harry Truman—a photograph was taken of Truman on …