At the opening of the Union Station in 1914, Fred Harvey, famous for his cuisine and chain of eating houses along the Santa Fe railroad, had a beautiful set of 10 different scenes of the station made in pastel colors. They were labeled Phostint by the publisher, the Detroit Publishing Co. They were put on sale at Harvey's restaurants and gift shop at the station. The card pictured from this unused set is that of the great high-ceilinged lobby and ticket office. The legend on the address side of the card describes the scene: Right at the main entrance to Kansas City's new Union Station are the ticket offices. The booths are arranged in a semi-circle with ample space to meet the demands of travel at its heaviest. The semi-circle arrangement is a means of obvious convenience to the traveling public.The arches shown in the illustration are each 60 feet high and 14 feet wide and lead to the plaza in front of the main structure. Beyond the plaza is a public park. Street cars leave from the plaza and adjacent streets to all parts of the city. During the Christmas holidays, when as many as 200 trains arrived daily, the great lobby was alive with activity and excitement, as old friends and relatives met trains with passengers here for holiday visits. Happy parents met children home for vacation from college. Often a stop was made at Fred Harvey's, just across the lobby, for an oyster stew or cup of hot chocolate. Huge Christmas wreaths and greenery decorated lobbies and the exterior of the building. Music by local choral groups filled the air. A city wide chorus of 1,300 voices, directed by Raymond Havens, sang in the lobby on Dec. 22, 1927, the largest group ever to perform there. Kansas City Times. December 23, 1983
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