Light show teases at future for Union Station
The historic Union Station is being showcased as part of Scissortail Park with a holiday musical illumination display that will continue through the new year.
The lighting is both an addition to the annual holiday festivities downtown and a teaser of what's to come for the 1931 station that was all but forgotten for decades but is now seen as a future anchor for Scissor tail Park.
The new light show, st aged by Toucan Productions, was launched Saturday and will run 7 to 11 p.m. daily through Jan. 1.
Maureen Heffernan, who over sees the Scissor tail Park Foundation in addition to the Myriad Gardens Foundation, hopes t he light show will draw more interest in Union Station. The landmark was a hub for passenger trains between 1931 and 1967 and represents the golden age of rail travel.
“We want to bring more cheer into the community,” Heffernan said .“It' s a safe thing to do. It' s outdoors, people can come out and enjoy the show and realize the grandeur of this building.”
The station was almost lost due to abandonment and the demise of the surrounding neighborhood. A dozen years after closing, windows were broken, their wooden sills rotted and the interior destroyed by vandals and neglect. Dozens of layers of paint covered original brass and copper fixtures and original woodwork. Plumbing had been torn out by thieves seeking metal.
The late Thurman Mag bee, owner of an electronics distribution company, pulled off a rescue and preservation job that allowed for the main hall to be reopened with easy removal of two stories of office cubicles from its interior.
The Central Oklahoma Transportation Authority bought the station next with unfulfilled plans to make it a transit hub. Resolution of the federal grant and restrictions on the station's use is being addressed by City Hall.
About $17 million in MAPS 3 funds is reserved for restoration of the station for public use as part of the park.
The light show is sponsored by T-Mobile, SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, OG&E, Toucan Productions, BancFirst, Homeland, C rowe& Dun levy, and Blair& Maggie Humphreys. Heffernan believes private support will also be added to the MAPS 3 allocation to allow the station to be raised to its best use.
The stations pans 49,000 square feet and He ff er nan en visions housing offices for park staff and storage for equipment. The west wing would be a visitors center providing information on the park and other city destinations.
That visitors center might adjoin a gift shop with the station also hosting a coffee shop or cafe. The freight wing of the depot is being looked at as a possible museum or gallery.
He ff er nan sees a restored main hall being used for special events, theater and a winter season for the park' s farmers market.
With private fundi ng Heffernan believes apart of the station can be converted into classrooms.
“We can have really great educational program,” Heffernan said. “School visits can be really popular. And might find a couple of tenants to lease to like a bike rental shop or maybe a daycare or office co-sharing.”
Business Writer Steve Lackmeyer is a 30-year reporter, columnist and author who covers downtown Oklahoma City and related urban development for The Oklahoman. Contact him at slackmeyer@ oklahoman.com. Please support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a subscription today at http://oklahoman.com/subscribe.