Preserve our historic railway assets

I agree with those who say the time is right to bring Union Station back to life. Angela Cara Pancrazio’s article mentions a few of the stations that have been refurbished and brought back to life. There are several stations around the U.S.A. and Canada that are major centers in their city. I have ridden the train in all but four states and all but five provinces in Canada. The railways are full of historic assets that need to be preserved.

Many cities have refurbished their depots which in turn revitalized their downtowns. Angela mentions Kansas City, St. Louis and Los Angeles. I have visited each of these depots and marvel at their preserved architecture. Penn Station in New York, Union Station in Chicago and South Station in Boston are very busy places with the hustle and bustle of people. Gare Centrale in Montreal is an underground city, with tunnels to hotels and the Bonaventure metro station. Many of the smaller depots along the U.S. and Canadian rails have converted to museums preserving many of the huge assets these nations have accumulated. Phoenix is a huge city that will become humongous. Now is the time to plan for the future.

I believe that preserving our railroad assets and saving our memories by improving the depot will add to revitalization of the historic downtown Phoenix. Selling it to a private enterprise will erase those memories and liquidate historic works of art. After all, Athens has not sold the Parthenon.