Arcade at Night - A Washington Union Station Impression

Arcade at Night - A Washington Union Station Impression

This continuous vaulted ceiling loggia, with its statuary-topped entrances to the Waiting Room
and Main Concourse, runs the entire 626 foot length of Washington's Union Station.

The magnificent structure, designed by architect Daniel Burnham and completed in 1908, serves as the
southern terminus of Amtrak's high-speed electrified Northeast Corridor, as well as transiting point for trains
arriving from points south and west on its lower-level tracks. It is here that through trains pause for power
change from diesel to electric, or vice-versa.

The station is also a busy terminus for two commuter railroads, with the Virginia Railway Express
serving communities in Washington's Virginia suburbs, and MARC, the Maryland Commuter Rail agency,
carrying passengers to Washington's Maryland suburbs, Baltimore, and as far north as Perryville. The
station also accommodates intercity bus services from its parking deck, a stop on Washington's Red Line
Metrorail subway service, and a streetcar line along H St NE. (*)

While normally bustling with departing and arriving travelers, Saturday nights are usually less busy, but this
particular Saturday night was in April 2021, when the covid pandemic was still having its effects on discretionary
travel. This impression of an unusually "quiet" Union Station makes its first appearance here.

©2023 Steve Ember
(*)