We love the historic buildings of downtown Texarkana. One of our favorites, and in better shape than most is Union Station on Front Street. The Safe Squad has been at it again and this time they bring us footage from inside Union Station.
Having done the Historic Ghost Tours for the Texarkana Museums System in the past, this has always been one of my favorite buildings downtown. Built in 1928, there are some very unique stories that go with that building along those lines, but that is another blog post altogether.
My favorite story about Union Station was when three little old ladies didn’t really want to do the entire “Ghost Walk” but just wanted to see Union Station. We went thru there and a little 94-year-old woman told me the history. She spoke of World War 2 and how almost every troop that fought in either Europe or the Pacific passed through Texarkana, and they would line the streets with their duffle bags. She had worked at Union Station, she said: “All the boys that were going to fight would line up like they were at attention when they came in the building and all went to one window to find out when and where they were going.” So, we walked to the window she spoke of and sure enough, you can feel imprints of the thousands of feet that stood there on the marble floor. Another quick bit, there is still a bullet hole in the ceiling from a robbery attempt in the ’50s.
Vacant now, there have been restaurants, bars, and shops in the building over the years, even a Gentlemen’s Club. Most recently it was used in the remake of the movie, “The Town That Dreaded Sundown” in 2014. The bones of the building are good, and this would be the easiest, in my inexperienced opinion, to renovate.
We had posted about the Safe Squad touring the old Pine Street Junior High a little while back and now the crew has gone in and around Union Station on Front Street behind the Bi-State Justice Building.
