A portion of the arcade was saved, the Union Station arch, which is the focal point of the McFerson Commons park in the nearby Arena District.

[1] Burnham's use of the style lead to an ornate station, held in awe by Columbus citizens for many years, though by the time of its deterioration in the 1970s, it was largely overlooked.

By 1973, the plaster was crumbling, and the arches became nesting places for pigeons, while moisture was causing the wood lath to rot.

The previous two served in the nineteenth century, and their replacement and upgrade reflected the rapid growth in traffic and importance of Columbus' railroads at that time.

The subsequent decline in rail passenger traffic following World War II was reflected in Union Station's demolition and replacement with a convention center in the early 1980s.

A wood barn structure measuring 90 by 175 feet (27 by 53 m) was installed to serve passengers, the rest of the site given over to shops and freight tracks.

[2] In 1853, the Central Ohio and Columbus, Piqua and Indiana Railroads entered the city and connected to the station.

In 1864, the Steubenville and Indiana Railroad was connected the Central Ohio at Newark, and entered the station on shared tracks.

In 1891 the traffic situation on High Street reached a crisis, with the roadway blocked for up to seven hours per day by crossing trains.

A key feature of the new station would be a road viaduct over the tracks, finally solving the traffic/train problem on North High Street.

The arcade was unique to Columbus and consisted of stores and offices built atop the viaduct and facing High Street.

It was clear that the completion of the interstates and popularity of automobiles would soon mean the end of passenger rail service in Columbus.

On January 17, 1974, the station's arcade was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, noted in emergency as plans existed to demolish the structure.

[1] Amtrak cut back rail service to a single train, the New York-Kansas City National Limited (formerly the Spirit of St. Louis).

The demolition and replacement of Union Station dates to a 1969-1975 lawsuit against the Columbus-based Battelle Memorial Institute (BMI).

It was noted that Battelle made no effort to find funding from obvious sources including the State Historic Preservation Office, the National Endowment for the Arts, Department of the Interior, Community Development Block Grants, or General Revenue Sharing Funds.

[5] By 6 pm on the next day, a temporary restraining order secured by the Ohio Historical Society halted the demolition.

The last train to serve the main station building was a westbound National Limited, which left for Kansas City at 9:17 am that morning.

The National Limited itself was eliminated a month later, ending about 130 years of intercity rail service in Columbus.

The viaduct over I-670 was constructed with a cap, and shops lining High Street reminiscent of the long gone arcade.

A future streetcar or light rail line could be built on the west end of the proposed station.

[6] Views from c. 1975: In July 2021 the Franklin County Convention Facilities Authority contracted with LMN Architects and HNTB Engineering to conduct a site assessment and programming study of three possible Amtrak station locations at or near the Greater Columbus Convention Center.