Seattle, WA (SEA)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$45,325,263

Station Ridership

FY 2011

672,485

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

Seattle's King Street Station was constructed in 1906 by the Great Northern Railway, replacing an earlier station on Railroad Avenue, today’s Alaskan Way. Designed by the firm of Reed and Stem of St. Paul, Minn., who were associated with the building of New York’s Grand Central Station, the station is constructed of granite and red brick with terra cotta and cast stone ornamentation. The station was part of a larger project that moved the main line away from the waterfront and into a 5,245-foot tunnel under downtown. The distinctive clock tower is a Seattle landmark and was inspired by the Piazza de San Marco's bell tower in Venice, Italy; it was the tallest structure in Seattle when it was built. The station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

In the late 1960s the station interior was modernized. The ornate waiting room ceilings were covered for the next three decades by a fabricated lowered ceiling. The chandeliers were replaced by fluorescent lighting and the intricate marble was covered with plastic laminate.

New cosmetic renovations and modernization of services began in 2003. New platform canopies, tracks and a new entrance canopy were installed. Brass fixtures were added at the trackside doors. Tall windows in the waiting room that were covered over in the 1960s were replaced by new wood frame windows. The light now shines through in the waiting room which was also enlarged. The decorative waiting room plaster was recreated and installed in the northwest corner across from the ticket counter.

The Compass Room, named for the navigational compass star design laid out in hand cut marble tiles on the floor, is the entrance foyer to the station and the base of the clock tower. The renovations here included the installation of new mahogany entrance doors, new marble cladding, painting and the restoration of the ornamental plaster.

In December of 2006, the Seattle City Council formalized an agreement to purchase the station from the BNSF Railway for $1. Revised to $10, the deal was signed on March 8, 2008. The purchase freed up funds that can be used for the further restoration. $10 million in city funds have been earmarked from a recent transportation levy—the Bridging the Gap levy—to match federal and state monies to fund the improvements, and the Washington State Department of Transportation will offer $16.5 million in state and federal funds.

After purchase by the city, the clocks in the clock tower were repaired, and the old microwave antennas removed, and the neon “King Street Station” sign above Jackson Plaza repaired and illuminated. Construction began in September 2008 on the latest restorations, replacing the leaking roof with new terracotta tiles, replicating the originals. The roof is the first of many architectural features to be restored, and its replacement is expected to complete by March 2009. By late 2011, interior finishes and the lobby's original ornate ceiling will be restored, the grand staircase recreated and reopened, and seismic upgrades made as well.

It is intended that the station serve as one of three intermodal hubs in downtown Seattle, alongside the Westlake hub and the Coleman Ferry Dock.

Seattle is served by the daily Empire Builder to and from Chicago, the daily Coast Starlight to and from Los Angeles and 12 daily Eugene-Portland-Seattle-Vancouver Amtrak Cascades trains. The Amtrak Cascades are primarily financed through funds made available by the Washington State Department of Transportation and the Oregon Department of Transportation.

Photo credit: Jim Culp, WSDOT