Meet Me Under the Clock
Taken from a fellow Kansas Citian…
"Meet me under the clock." For several generations of Kansas Citians, that meant only one thing - let's get together under the clock at Union Station. At a time when rail travel was at its peak in the US, and particularly during World War II, this grandiose train station was a whirlwind of activity. The north waiting room alone would hold up to 10,000 people.
Union Station dates back to 1914. In 1933 it was the site of the Union Station Massacre in which Pretty Boy Floyd and his accomplices attempted to free convicted murderer and gangster Frank Nash who, a bloody shootout in which Nash and three lawmen were killed. As a result of this affair, J. Edgar Hoover's fledgling FBI was given increased powers and funding. Ask somebody familiar with the building to show you the bullet holes. Some say these aren't really bullet holes from the shootout, but there are always nay-sayers about.
In the 1980s, the grand old lady was boarded up, home to pigeons. Millions of dollars were spent to completely restore the station, and it is now home to restaurants and shops, Science City, a new train museum, theatre, and is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute, often bringing exciting temporary exhibits to the city.