Step into KC’s grand “hello & goodbye” hall—where chandeliers glow overhead and footsteps echo like a movie set. Meet beneath the famous clock, snap your first group photo, and set the tone for the tour. Railroads helped KC’s flavors travel and this room was built to impress— this was KC’s front door to the world. Look up: that clock has witnessed more than a century of reunions, departures, and first tastes of town. Union Station opened on October 30, 1914, marking KC's transformation from frontier town to major transportation hub. Designed by Chicago architect Jarvis Hunt, the Beaux-Arts masterpiece reflected the ideals of the City Beautiful movement, bringing elegance, pride and permanence to a growing american city.