The $30 million gamble that saved one of Indiana’s most vandalized landmark

Robert Borns’ $30-Million Rescue of Indianapolis Union Station

By 1970, Indianapolis Union Station stood empty and broken. The once-busy rail hub had turned into a hangout for gangs after Penn Central went bust.

Trains no longer came, and the grand building fell apart. In 1982, developer Robert Borns saw what others missed.

He won $10. 5 million in public funds and raised millions more to save the crumbling landmark.

His bold $30-million plan transformed the vandal-filled eyesore into a bustling marketplace with shops, restaurants, and a hotel.

When doors opened in April 1986, half a million people rushed to see the rebirth of this Romanesque Revival gem that still stands proud today.

Trains Stopped Coming to Indianapolis Union Station After WWII

Railroad travel crashed after World War II. Indianapolis Union Station’s 200 daily trains dropped to just 64 monthly trips by 1946, then to 50 monthly by 1952.

Things got worse when Penn Central Railroad formed in 1968 from a messy merger between Pennsylvania Railroad and New York Central.

The company went bankrupt on June 21, 1970, cutting Indianapolis from major rail networks. The grand station sat mostly empty except for a few railway workers and homeless people.

Water damage and crumbling walls spread throughout the 1970s.

Gangs and Vandals Turned the Historic Building into a Dangerous Eyesore

Trouble moved in quickly after Penn Central collapsed. The huge building sat mostly unguarded, becoming a playground for vandals and gangs.

Police and firefighters made regular trips to the station as it became an embarrassing mess for the city. Water leaked through the roof, ruining the beautiful plaster work inside, with some walls even falling down.

The last passenger train, the National Limited, left in 1979, cutting Indianapolis from America’s rail network. Visitors coming for the Indianapolis 500 race saw a sad, empty building.

The City Bought the Crumbling Station for $434,500

Help came in 1974 when Union Station got on the National Register of Historic Places, giving it some legal protection. Several attempts to stop the building’s decay followed, but none worked well.

Mayor Richard Lugar stepped in with federal grant money to help fix the structure. Private investors briefly owned the property while looking for new uses.

The City of Indianapolis bought the station for $434,500 in 1980 and started working on plans to bring it back to life.

Other Cities Showed How Old Buildings Could Become Shopping Destinations

City leaders looked at what worked elsewhere. They studied Boston’s Faneuil Hall, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, and San Antonio’s Riverwalk, where old buildings became popular shopping spots.

The “festival marketplace” idea caught on as a way to save historic buildings by filling them with shops and restaurants. Amtrak brought back the Hoosier State train in 1980, giving Indianapolis daily service to Chicago.

Developer Robert Borns came forward with a plan to turn the station into a million-square-foot urban marketplace. Indianapolis’ three biggest banks backed the project.

Borns Secured $30 Million Through Smart Financing

Robert Borns won an $8. 4 million federal grant in late 1982.

He used historic preservation tax credits to attract private money for the project. The city added another $2.1 million to help save the landmark. In total, Borns gathered $30 million through federal money, city cash, and private financing.

In January 1983, Borns and the city shared their plans for the station.

They wanted to create a marketplace filled with shops, restaurants, bars, and even a hotel inside the restored train station.

Workers Had to Replace Almost All the Decorative Plaster

Construction started in 1984 on the two-year project changing the station from a transportation hub to a shopping center.

Woollen, Molzan and Partners focused on fixing the historic train shed, while Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf handled the overall renovation.

Workers needed to replace nearly 90 percent of the fancy plaster work from the 1880s head house because of water damage. The design kept the open steel supports and added skylights.

The western part became a 273-room Crowne Plaza Hotel, with 26 rooms built inside real 1920s Pullman train cars.

Half a Million People Showed Up in the First Week

The newly fixed Union Station opened on April 26, 1986, after the $30 million makeover. Workers rushed to finish last-minute details just days before opening.

The public response was huge, with over 500,000 visitors flooding the station in just the first week, according to Borns.

The renovated building held more than 100 restaurants and shops, eleven restaurants and nightclubs, a food court, and a large arcade.

Shoppers found everything from fancy food to fashionable clothes, plus specialty stores like a magic shop and a toy train retailer.

Ghost Sculptures Reminded Visitors of the Station’s History

The station quickly became a downtown hotspot with fifty specialty shops and places to eat.

Artist Gary Rittenhouse created “Ghost People” sculptures placed throughout the building, showing figures dressed in old-time clothes from the station’s transportation days.

The hotel rooms in the Pullman train cars got names of famous people who had traveled through Union Station, like Charlie Chaplin and Louis Armstrong.

The project came before the later Circle Centre mall development downtown.

The Festival Marketplace Lost Millions Within Three Years

Money troubles appeared by 1989 when the station reported a $2. 92 million loss due to high costs and competition from other shopping areas.

Things got worse in 1990 with an even bigger $3. 38 million loss as shops came and went and security problems grew.

Borns Management Corporation gave up the long-term lease to Balcor Company in 1991, an Illinois finance firm holding the $23 million mortgage.

The financial problems came from low sales, high costs of keeping up a historic building, and changing shopping patterns.

The Station Finally Made a Profit in 1993

Things looked up briefly in 1992 when station officials reported business improvements, though they still asked the city to delay loan payments.

The year 1993 marked a turning point with the station’s first profitable year since opening, showing a $431,000 profit. More than 4.2 million people visited the station’s 34 retail stores, 18 fast food places, and 7 restaurants and bars that year. But the good times didn’t last.

Circle Centre Mall opened in 1995, pulling customers away from Union Station.

By 1997, city leaders officially called the festival marketplace strategy a failure, and Indianapolis government took ownership.

Borns Saved the Building Even Though the Marketplace Failed

The Indianapolis government took control in 1997, making sure the building would survive even though the commercial marketplace didn’t work out.

The Crowne Plaza Hotel kept operating in the train shed, providing a steady business anchor for the complex.

Various groups rented space over the years, including a go-kart track, a charter school, and office tenants as part of a flexible reuse approach.

The main concourse became a popular rental space for special events, weddings, and large gatherings.

Robert Borns’ vision ultimately succeeded in its most important goal: saving one of America’s finest examples of Romanesque Revival architecture for future generations to enjoy.

Visiting Union Station, Indiana

You can visit Union Station at 123 W. Louisiana St. in Indianapolis to see Robert Borns’ 1980s transformation from abandoned eyesore to thriving destination.

The Crowne Plaza hotel has 26 real 1920s Pullman train cars converted into rooms on original tracks, named after famous people like Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill.

Look for Ghost People statues honoring past railroad travelers throughout the building. The Grand Hall only opens for private events, and you’ll need valet parking.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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