Phoenix Union Station was constructed in 1923 by the Santa Fe and the Arizona Eastern Railroads. The Station is one of the best examples of Mission Revival architecture, along with Brophy College Preparatory, in Phoenix. The Mission Revival style, a popular building style between 1890 and the 1920s, was typified by such Union Station features as stucco wall finishes, arcades, red tiled roofs, curvilinear gables, massive piers, and impost moldings. According to the "Phoenix Historic Building Survey" by the Phoenix City Council, September 1979: ; Historic Name: Union Station of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads ; Description ; Significance:
History
Rob Bohannan presented this history at ARPA's dedication of the clock and plaque donated by ARPA members, January 11, 1992. Used with permission: In 1995, the last full year Amtrak stopped at Union Station, 21,495 passengers boarded or alighted here. Since Amtrak left in 1996, the Olympic Torch train has stopped here twice, and tourist trains like the GrandLuxe have also occasionally used Union Station. In 2000, the Arizona Department of Transportation and the Arizona Rail Passenger Association presented "Transpo 2000," an exposition of a modern Talgo trainset at Union Station.
No regular passenger trains call at Union Station. However, as recently as 2010, there were efforts to bring back passenger rail service to Phoenix. Amtrak operates the Sunset Limited three times a week from the town of Maricopa, which is in Pinal County thirty miles south of downtown Phoenix. A private company, White's Taxi Shuttle, operates a taxi service to the Phoenix metro area; as of April, 2017 there is Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach service to and from Maricopa with stops in Tempe and Phoenix. The Sunset Limited also directly serves Tucson, and many Phoenix passengers travel to Tucson as an alternative to boarding the train in Maricopa. Amtrak's Southwest Chief train route operates through Flagstaff daily, and Amtrak provides guaranteed through-ticketed Thruway Motorcoach connecting shuttle service via or from Metrocenter Mall and the town of Camp Verde to and from the trains at Flagstaff. The nearest Valley Metro Rail station, City Hall, is half a mile away.
