Published October 27, 2025 | Updated May 26, 2026

Sitting just south of the train tracks along the 10th Street viaduct was the second of Omaha’s two historic train stations. Together with its neighbor to the north, Union Station, it gave Omaha railroad passengers terminal facilities comparable to those of any city of similar size.

Designed by architect Thomas R. Kimball in the Greek Revival style, the structure at 1001 S. 10th Street replaced the city’s original station on the same site in 1870. Kimball was deeply civic minded and designed the original Omaha Public Library and St. Cecilia Cathedral. This train station stands as one of his most prominent projects. He also redesigned the company’s headquarters, Burlington Place, a year later.

The exterior was clad in light gray limestone with a glazed red tile roof, fronted by 28 pink Colorado granite Doric columns and a pedimented frieze carved by Chicago sculptor Richard Block. The frieze featured ornamental clocks mounted atop a globe, flanked by figures representing manufacturing, agriculture, industry, commerce, steam, electricity, enterprise, science, art, and literature. Inside, the second-floor waiting room measured 80 by 80 feet and featured Siena marble columns and mosaic floors. A grand double spiral staircase, designed after a French chateau and accented with bronze newel posts depicting Rocky Mountain sheep, led passengers to the track level, where they boarded trains beneath a large canopy.

The 48,000-square-foot station opened in time to welcome visitors to the Trans-Mississippi Exposition on July 4, 1898, which saw more than 2.6 million visitors to Omaha. At one point, the station was referred to as America’s finest railroad station and an artistic gem resembling a Grecian temple.

Serving the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, it carried not only passengers but also freight, crops, and mail. The railroad united the Midwest with tracks located west of the Missouri River. The rail service brought with it an influx of both passengers and railroad workers. Upon their arrival, they required additional services including hotel rooms and restaurants, which contributed to the city’s economy and growth.

To compete with Union Pacific’s new Art Deco station, which opened in 1931, Burlington Station was extensively remodeled by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White of Chicago in the Neoclassical Revival style. The new design simplified the exterior, including the removal of the columns, which were relocated to Lincoln, where they still stand near Memorial Stadium. The roofline over the waiting area was raised, while the central spiral staircase was removed and its circular opening covered. The arched doorways were replaced with flat ones to create a more linear look. When completed, the station featured four large lanterns, each weighing a ton, in addition to a new restaurant and a concourse that provided easier access to the trains.

Burlington Station was remodeled again in 1954, when a major parking structure and a circular drive for passenger drop-offs were added. In the years that followed, the popularity of passenger rail service declined due to air travel and the completion of the interstate system. Declining use left the once-grand station in disrepair. After the federal government consolidated passenger rail service to Amtrak in 1971, Amtrak leased the station but departed in 1974, citing high maintenance costs. As a result, it moved to a more modest facility to its east. After Burlington Station closed, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Following a failed attempt to get Amtrak to return, Burlington Station was used off-and-on for events such as open-air markets, plays, and haunted houses. It mostly remained vacant as multiple redevelopment proposals surfaced in the years that followed. Some of the proposals included a restaurant and cocktail lounge; a business center with offices, a convention center with shops and restaurants; the headquarters for Warren Distribution; and a multi-purpose facility featuring condominiums, restaurants, shops, a spa, and gym.

Lacking electricity, heat, air conditioning, or lighting, the former station was used as shelter by homeless individuals during harsh winter months. The lack of maintenance led to a leaking roof and crumbling walls that became a target for graffiti.

There had been talk of demolishing the long-vacant building when Hearst Television announced in 2013 an ambitious plan to transform it into a newsroom for KETV. The news station required a larger space but also jumped at the opportunity to preserve a historic landmark. KETV President Ariel Roblin said in an interview with the National Trust for Historic Preservation that it is the job of the station to tell the city’s story. The historic train station allowed them to do just that. Her idea was that through its renovation, the news station could transform the building into a state-of-the-art news studio while honoring its past. Led by Leo A. Daly and Lund-Ross Constructors, the project restored the building’s exterior to its 1931 appearance and outfitted the interior with modern broadcast technology. It was completed in time for the news station to relocate in 2015.

The result of the renovation speaks for itself as just two years later, the Great Plains Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society honored KETV, Leo A. Daly, and Lund-Ross Constructors with the John H. Conant Award for their efforts in preserving American railroad history.

The transformation from train station to news station may be one of the most unusual second acts for a historic building in the country. While the building is no longer open to the public, Burlington Station still serves Omaha, just in the form of breaking news rather than train service.

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More pictures

• Omaha World-Herald archives
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omaha_station_(Chicago,_Burlington_and_Quincy_Railroad)
• https://www.omahamagazine.com/uncategorized/the-burlington-building/
• https://news.unl.edu/article/from-the-archives-historic-columns
• https://journalstar.com/news/state-and-regional/nebraska/jim-mckee-omahas-burlington-station-is-born-again/article_deebf0e3-8661-5f43-8040-231590468884.html
• https://www.nps.gov/places/burlington-station.htm
• https://savingplaces.org/stories/a-local-tv-stations-preservationist-side