A short conversation with the ticket agent inside revealed that this station building has been purchased by the City of Oklahoma City, and a new Greyhound station will be built somewhere out by the OKC airport. He wasn't aware of the fate of this building, but Oklahoma City's penchant for preserving historic structures indicates that this building might well be saved from demolition.
*** UPDATE ***
"This Union Bus Station was built in 1941. The building is faced with blue vitrolite. The station was used by Greyhound and other private bus lines. The station closed in 2013 and Greyhound moved to a new location. The fate of this building is unknown. In 2012, the owner said that it would be adapted for another use." (
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Short TV news report here: (
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"Union Bus Station has its first new owner since opening in 1940, and the buyer, Nicholas Preftakes, pledged Tuesday he will not raze the Art Deco structure as he seeks to redevelop the block.
Preftakes is one of a handful of developers who has sought to buy the station at 427 W Sheridan Ave. since the late 1990s. Preftakes said the timing was finally right with the planned relocation of Greyhound and Jefferson Lines to a proposed new station at Eastern and Reno Avenues.
“It's the same price in terms I offered in March 2007 — $2 million,” Preftakes said of the purchase amount. “Greyhound is leasing it back for up to two years while they find a new location.”
Roland Tague, attorney for First Group America, which is a minority owner in the station and owns Greyhound, said an application is pending with the Oklahoma City Planning Commission to convert an old restaurant at 1948 E Reno into a new bus depot. He said Tuesday a hearing is set for later this month pending completion of traffic studies.
The closing of Union Bus Station is something that has been pursued by downtown civic interests for the past 20 years. When it opened, the station saw about 80 bus arrivals daily, compared with the current average of about 26 daily arrivals.
Cross-country travel by bus was overtaking rail transit when the station opened in 1940. Howard Allen persuaded four fellow bus operators, including Greyhound, to each take a 20 percent interest in building and operating the station instead of each operating its own terminal.
The Allen family retained interest in the station and joined Greyhound in selling the property to Preftakes. The station also gives Preftakes full control of the north side of Sheridan Avenue between Hudson and Walker avenues." (
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