Kelly: One man's passion revived Omaha's old Union Station, now the Durham Museum

[Omaha Steve]

I don't read the obits. I just found out. A good friend.

He twice wrote an endorsement for me when I ran for the City Council.

OS

http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/kelly-one-man-s-passion-revived-omaha-s-old-union/article_7e4775ab-a1af-5d1a-b33c-b4f6428b6eed.html



THE WORLD-HERALD
Ronald W. Hunter, an Omaha attorney and history buff, shown here in 1982, saw Union Station’s potential 40 years ago when it was a dilapitated structure filled with mold, dust and dirt. Hunter, who died last Thursday, was the founding board president of the group that pushed to restore the old train station, which is now Durham Museum.

POSTED: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014 1:00 AM
By Michael Kelly / World-Herald columnist

As a young reporter decades ago, I stood with Ron Hunter in the dilapidated old Union Station, and “dilapidated” is putting it mildly.

The Art Deco structure had opened as a beauty in 1931, and during World War II it served 64 trains a day. But the passenger-train era ended, the station closed, and the Union Pacific Railway deeded it to the City of Omaha in 1973.

It was a musty, moldy mess: peeling paint, falling plaster, leaking roof and bird droppings. Lots of bird droppings. A city councilman called it a white elephant, and many thought it should be torn down.

In his mind’s eye, Ronald W. Hunter pictured a beautiful museum.

FULL story at link.

[GreatGazoo]

1. A life full of passion is a life well lived.

[Omaha Steve]

2. Kick