Celebrate the Restored Santa Fe Station
Association of Central Oklahoma Governments
Central Oklahoma’s Metropolitan Planning Organization
Interact with characters from the 1930s and explore the newly restored Santa Fe Station with a free, family-friendly open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, December 9.
The 80-year-old, historic Santa Fe Station, located at 100 S E.K. Gaylord Blvd., Oklahoma City, was recently restored to its former opulence, and will serve as Oklahoma City’s multi-modal transportation hub.
John M. Sharp, ACOG Deputy Director, will speak at the celebration along with Mayor Mick Cornett, Oklahoma City Manager Jim Couch and others.
Characters wearing vintage costumes will help visitors, especially children, feel like they’ve been transported to the golden era of railroad transportation in Oklahoma.
Kids get free hot chocolate, a free train whistle and a free train safety coloring book, while supplies last. Station tours are also available, and kids can put together a free holiday craft.
The recently completed $28.4 million renovation helped restore original architectural and design elements of the station, improve the boarding platforms and other passenger areas and enhance the streetscape on E.K. Gaylord between Reno Avenue and Main Street.
Santa Fe Station is the northernmost station on Amtrak’s Heartland Flyer route, which runs between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth with stops in Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley, Ardmore and Gainesville, Texas.
The Oklahoma City Streetcar, funded by MAPS 3, will also have a stop at the station. The Streetcar will begin service in late 2018.
Multiple EMBARK bus stops are a short walk from Santa Fe Station, as are Spokies bike share stations.
The station was built in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1934. The station’s architecture and interior epitomize the Art Deco era with carved and painted geometric designs, period chandeliers and aluminum canopies, door and window frames.
The restoration project architect is TAP Architecture, and the general contractor is Cooley Construction. TAP and Cooley are open house sponsors along with the City of Oklahoma City and EMBARK.
- Join the event on Facebook or EventBrite
The Santa Fe Station is the result of an ongoing partnership and planning among several entities: Embark, the City of Oklahoma City and MAPS, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments. ACOG provided $1 million in funding toward the restoration of Santa Fe Station.