After a large fire in 1864, a new structure was built, and was the largest train station in the United States until construction of Grand Central Depot in New York City in 1871.

The first union depot cost $75,000 (equivalent to $2.75 million in 2023), and consisted of a group of wooden sheds centrally located at the foot of the hill where Bank (current-day West 6th) and Water (current-day West 9th) Streets met the lake shore.

The remaining structures were retained for housing, cleaning, and repairing train cars, and a replacement station was constructed of masonry nearby.

[5] During the Civil War, the station was utilized to transport thousands of soldiers to training camps.

[8] By the 1890s, Union Depot was too small for the number of trains and people coming into Cleveland daily, and as it deteriorated and accumulated soot and ash, it became an embarrassment to many citizens.

In the mid-1900s, the depot was renovated, which included removal of the arched train shed, replaced by individual canopies over each platform.