The Kirkwood Train Station has been back in business since mid-September, at least officially. The ribbon was cut on September 15 on a new outdoor patio at 110 W. Argonne Drive, and the restoration cost about $4.7 million. On the trains, little has changed so far. Amtrak's rebuild of the platforms and crossings isn't due to start until spring 2027. For the rest of this year, the depot's real job is civic. Downtown Kirkwood's busiest stretch of the calendar runs right past its doors, starting tonight.
A depot that the grants and donations paid for
The 1893 building has been city-owned since 2003. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, and it still serves Amtrak passengers. According to the Webster-Kirkwood Times, the city received more than $4.2 million in grants for the project, and local donations added roughly another $1 million. That means grants and donations alone covered the whole thing. The City of Kirkwood's announcement lists the funding sources: the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, administered through East-West Gateway and MoDOT, plus Missouri State ARPA money and fundraising by the Historic Kirkwood Train Station Foundation.
Missouri Transportation Commission Chair Warren Erdman came to town for the ceremony and gave the credit to residents. The Times quoted him:
"It was through a strong and engaged citizenry that this was made possible. We're very proud of you and wish you the best as you finish this project."
He said "finish," and he meant it. The ceremony celebrated a project that was nearly complete, and work was still going on both inside and outside the building that day.
What's finished, and what was still in progress
Coverage of the reopening described two different stages of the same building. On September 15, First Alert 4 reported that the station had "officially reopened," with a restored 1940s-style platform, a new courtyard, and a micro-museum of local rail artifacts and murals. The Times reported that officials expected at least another month of work before the interior was ready for passengers.
| Part of the project | Status at the September 15 ceremony |
|---|---|
| New slate roof with copper flashing | Part of the renovation scope |
| Platform roof extended east, as it would have looked in 1941 | Part of the renovation scope |
| Outdoor patio | Newly completed and used for the ceremony |
| Larger accessible restrooms, new storage building | Part of the renovation scope |
| Geothermal heating and cooling | Part of the renovation scope |
| Interior ready for passengers | At least a month of work remaining, per officials |
| Murals by Bryan Haynes | Listed among the interior finishing touches |
The murals are the detail most worth waiting for. The Times calls Bryan Haynes a Kirkwood native. His studio site calls him a New Regionalist, and his mural and large-scale commissions include work for the Kauffman Foundation and the Missouri Botanical Garden. An earlier Times story on the mural project said his work is known for accurate depictions of daily life in Missouri. At the time of that story, the station mural was still at the concept stage.
Mayor Liz Gibbons pointed to a combination few towns can claim. "Ours is one of only three passenger rail stations in the country that intersects with another historic Kirkwood icon, Route 66," she said in the city's announcement.
Volunteers run it, and the trains keep coming
Here is the operating fact most residents never see. Amtrak pays for staffing at only about a third of its stations nationwide, so Kirkwood runs its depot entirely with volunteers. The Times counted about 46 of them, and they keep the station staffed whenever a passenger train pulls in.
The station is a stop on the Missouri River Runner, which runs two round trips a day between St. Louis and Kansas City. With both daily trains restored, Kirkwood has become the line's second-busiest stop, even though construction limited operations to a temporary structure next to the historic building.
If you're catching a train to Jefferson City or Kansas City, Amtrak's Kirkwood station page lists the waiting room as open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and again from 8 to 9 p.m. The page also lists an accessible waiting room and accessible restrooms. It notes there's no ticket office and no passenger-assistance service, so buy your ticket before you get there.
The bigger rail work comes later. Amtrak's multi-million-dollar upgrade of the platforms and crossings is scheduled to begin in spring 2027. Until then, the restored building will get its heaviest use from downtown events.
The station's first season, date by date
Art McDonnell is a former Kirkwood mayor and now president of the Historic Kirkwood Train Station Foundation. He told the Times that once all the work is finished, the foundation sees the depot as a community hub for private and civic events. Downtown's calendar is already putting that idea to work.
- Halloween Walk, Thursday, October 29. That's tonight. Downtown businesses hand out treats from 5 to 7 p.m., and City Hall at 139 S. Kirkwood Road hands out candy from 4 to 5 p.m. The city expects to close Kirkwood Road from Monroe to Adams, plus East and West Argonne and Jefferson, from about 4 to 7:30 p.m. The station sits inside that closed zone. Details are on the Downtown Kirkwood Halloween Walk page.
- Wine Walk, Saturday, November 7. It's listed on the Downtown Kirkwood events calendar.
- Holiday Walk, Saturday, November 21. This is the day the restored station is built for. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive downtown at 8:40 a.m., and the Holiday Walk page lists Santa photos inside the train station from 9 a.m. to noon. The Missouri River Runner's own event listing gives the same arrival and photo times for 2026. The rest of the detailed activity schedule posted online is still labeled 2025, so check it again closer to the day.
- Kirkwood Festival of Trees, November 21 through December 4. This is the first one. Decorated trees and wreaths will be on display in the lobby of the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, and a raffle drawing is set for December 4 at 2 p.m., per the Festival of Trees page. The festival opens the same day as the Holiday Walk, so one Saturday covers Santa at the depot and the trees at KPAC.
- Small Business Saturday, November 28. It's on the downtown calendar the weekend after Thanksgiving.
If you're planning a KPAC night around those dates, the KPAC calendar lists Winter Opera St. Louis's The Most Happy Fella on November 6 and 8, a Rockin' Chair Eagles tribute on November 14, and PINK'D on November 21. That last one falls on the night of the Holiday Walk and the Festival of Trees opening.
Station Plaza's block is filling in
Fox's Finest Meats, Seafood & Marketplace celebrated its grand opening at 159 W. Argonne Drive, according to the Webster-Kirkwood Times Business Notes dated August 3, 2026. That puts it a short walk from the depot. On Holiday Walk morning, a stop for Santa photos and a stop for the holiday table can happen on the same block.
The Downtown Kirkwood Farmers' Market a few blocks over is marking 50 years downtown in 2026. It was founded in 1976.
Work on the road out front is coming next
The streets around the station have their own schedule, and it overlaps with the holidays. The city's South Kirkwood Road improvement project covers the stretch from West Monroe Avenue to the BNSF Railway crossing. The work includes a major overlay, new curbs and sidewalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and a new mid-block HAWK pedestrian signal. The City of Kirkwood engineering projects page lists it as out for bid, with construction estimated to start in winter 2026. MoDOT's bid notice set an October 9, 2026, bid deadline and showed striping and signing work reaching north to Argonne Drive.
Farther out is the Argonne Drive safety and accessibility plan, which runs from Geyer Road to Taylor Avenue. It calls for wider sidewalks, ADA ramps, traffic calming, and bike facilities. According to the Webster-Kirkwood Times, the plan carries a $2.6 million total cost, including $1.8 million in federal funding, with construction expected in 2030.
The restored depot comes first, the South Kirkwood Road work is expected this winter, Amtrak's platform and crossing work is slated for spring 2027, and the Argonne streetscape is expected to follow in 2030. This November is the one stretch where the restored station sits on downtown streets that haven't been torn up yet.
Bethany and the team at DeMaggio Partners follow changes like these block by block, from the depot on Argonne to the construction schedule on South Kirkwood Road. If you want to talk about how downtown Kirkwood's next few years might affect your street, let's talk. Book a free consultation or get your home valuation.
