Union Station will be getting improved lighting for its exterior after plans were approved by the National Capital Planning Commission.
The executive branch agency met Thursday and voted to approve the plans as submitted by the Union Station Redevelopment Corp., the nonprofit that oversees the District of Columbia train station.
The new white lights would make Union Station look brighter at night.
USRC CEO Doug Carr said at the meeting that “we have also gone through multiple iterations to carefully calibrate brightness and focus for the exterior lighting. The goal has been to respect the building’s architectural character without distortion.”
Mr. Carr also said that once funding is secured, the nonprofit plans to finish installing the new white lighting outside the building by early 2027.
Paul Ingrassia of the National Capital Planning Commission said that Union Station is “one of the crown jewels in the D.C. architecture portfolio right alongside the Capitol Building and the White House, and I think this lighting project really brings out key features that have long been perhaps not accentuated in ways that this project will highlight.”
There are also plans to change the lighting inside the station, but those changes do not fall under the purview of the National Capital Planning Commission, according to Washington’s WTOP-FM.
