Indianapolis Downtown Crowne Plaza Hotel
Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the Crowne Plaza at Historic Union Station is housed within America’s first “union station” in Indianapolis.
This unique hotel offers 273 guest rooms; the most popular feature is the 26 authentic Pullman train car rooms.
Still set on their original tracks, the 13 train cars each house two guest rooms named and decorated after famous personalities from the 1900s, such as Charlie Chaplin, Winston Churchill, Cole Porter, and Jean Harlow.
In addition, each car is furnished with its own unique blend of traditional yet modern decor depicting the life of its namesake.
The hotel is still an active railroad station with trains passing through on a regular schedule.
The muffled choo-choos and subtle vibrations of the trains as they roll through the building enhance the ambiance of staying in the hotel, where travelers can experience the authenticity of living in an active railroad station.
Indianapolis Union Station
Indianapolis was the first city in the world to have a union station in 1848. It's when a railway station is shared by two or more companies that run trains regularly.
During the 1960s, the widespread surge of automobilization paved the way for massive highway constructions in the US. Simultaneously, the country's national railway service declined as private cars took the roads.
As a result, by the 1970s, Indianapolis's Union Station building was starting to fall into decay, and vandals overtook its premises. After two decades of deterioration, finally, in the 1980s, things began to change.
In 1982 the station got into the National Register of Historic Places, and in 1984 the whole railway facility was renovated. The city revived the Union Station by allowing restaurants, clubs, and stores to open.
In addition, in 1996, the 273-room Crowne Plaza Hotel in the historic train shed boosted Union Station's popularity.
Conveniently located in the heart of downtown and near the Circle Centre Mall, the Mass Ave Arts District, theaters, restaurants, and nightlife, there’s much to see and do within a short walk of this hotel.
In the historic train shed, 26 Crowne Plaza Hotel rooms are housed within thirteen old Pullman cars.
The Foyer of the Grand Hall used to be a busy place a century ago. Half a million people rushed to take one of the 200 steam trains traveling to far-away places in the United States.
Today, the beautiful Romanesque-revival-style building houses the Grand Hall Bar.
So instead of rushing to reach your train, you can settle with an ice-cold drink and enjoy the fine details of the red brick and pink granite structures.
Union Station's majestic red-brick and granite, built in 1888, is a unique place to host events. For example, the Grand Hall can be turned into a wedding venue if your pockets are deep enough.
There are a variety of rooms ranging from Standard, Superior, and Executive Rooms to Master Suites. But the most special ones are the unique Train Car hosted in historic Pullman cars.
The beautiful steel beams dominate the indoor pool's industrial design. It's open from 9 am to 10 pm daily so you can have a dip after an exhausting meeting or a visit to the city.
