A portion of the grand lobby in the former St. Louis Union Station, which, at its opening in 1894, was the world's largest train station. With the rapid decline in U.S. long-distance rail traffic following World War II — the last passenger train left the depot in 1978 — the terminal was repurposed as a hotel, series of shops, and site of the city aquarium. The most recent, wholesale upgrade turned the terminal into one of the Hilton Hotel Curio Collection-brand of four-diamond hotels — this one recalling the sophistication of the property's Victorian Era beginnings. Photo by Carol Highsmith, 2021.