Wabash Station

Originally built in 1910 for a grand total of $15,000, Wabash Station has served as a gateway to Columbia for more than 100 years. Before finding a second life as a bus station following a remodel in 2007, the station acted as the terminus for the Columbia spur of its namesake railroad, which operated freight and passenger lines from Buffalo in the East to Kansas City in the West. The Wabash Railroad served Columbia uninterrupted for more than 50 years before ceasing operations in 1964; most of the passenger traffic headed to and from Columbia was tied to the University of Missouri.

The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and was acquired by the city in 1982. Around 1998, the city began planning to restore it, but those efforts didn’t come to a head until 2006 when, following Missouri Sen. Kit Bond’s securing of $2.37 million of federal transportation funds, construction for the restoration began. About a year later, the renovated and expanded station, featuring art from local artists Don Asbee and David Spear, reopened as both a bus depot and offices for Columbia Public Transportation.

Wabash’s newfound role as a bus station has served it well, especially with the expansion of low-cost carrier Megabus, which got its start in the Midwest, into the city in 2008, which provided easy transportation from Chicago, a major growth area for MU enrollment. In 2011, the station began hosting the North Village Farmers and Artisans Market, further entrenching it in the neighborhood and the city of Columbia.