Dayton Union Station

Dayton Union Station
inter-city rail station
Dayton Union Station in 1904
General information
Location	130 West 6th Street Dayton, OH 45402
Coordinates	39°45′17″N 84°11′38″W / 39.7548°N 84.1940°W / 39.7548; -84.1940
Elevation	740 ft (230 m)
History
Opened	1900
Closed	1979
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Richmond toward Kansas City National Limited Columbus toward New York or Washington, D.C. Preceding station Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Following station Whitfield toward Cincinnati Toledo Division Johnson toward Detroit Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station West Carrollton toward Cincinnati Cincinnati – Cleveland Osborn toward Cleveland Preceding station Pennsylvania Railroad Following station Richmond toward St. Louis St. Louis – Pittsburgh via Dayton Alpha toward Pittsburgh National toward Cincinnati Cincinnati, Lebanon and Northern Railway Terminus

Dayton Union Station was a railroad station serving Dayton, Ohio with daily passenger trains of several railroads. The station was located at 251 W. Sixth Street at the intersection of Ludlow Street, and it opened in 1900, replacing an earlier depot built in the mid-1850s. It was owned by the Dayton Union Railroad Co., which was owned by the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railway, the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, and the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railroad.^[1] Through a series of mergers over the years, it was ultimately owned by the New York Central Railroad, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and Pennsylvania Railroad.

Colloquially called the "Tower Depot," it included a seven-story clock tower.^[2][3] In the first 30 years of operation, the station hosted as many as 66 passenger trains a day. In 1931 the station opened an elevated platform to alleviate congestion between trains, streetcars and automobiles.^[2]

Famous people who stopped by the station included child actress Shirley Temple in 1944, President Harry S. Truman in 1948 and President Ronald Reagan in 1983, both of the latter two making campaign stops, Reagan making a whistle stop tour.^[2]