The Design Process

A Deep Dive into the Making of a Great Museum

If you like architecture, you’ve come to the right place!  Here’s the backstory of how we arrived at such a beautiful museum building design.  

It started with the desire to house and display our collection of historic trains in a setting that would be historically accurate and fitting of its heritage.  The challenge was to build the necessary railroad infrastructure while constructing a people-friendly, versatile, interactive museum.  

When Freeman Ryan Design worked their magic in creating the spatial planning priorities for displaying and interpreting our collection, the solution became apparent - simply borrow from the past and recreate a train station.  What better way to educate and entertain visitors than to immerse them in the experience once encountered by travelers in the early twentieth century?  

What followed was an exciting odyssey into researching great railway terminals of the past.  The two-part video compilation below shows the process by which MDC Architects developed an impressive, functional museum building for 21st century needs, while celebrating architectural wonders of the past.  Their work dovetailed perfectly with the massive train shed designed by Nationwide Construction also featured on this website.

As you will see, one station in particular inspired us the most - Chicago's Grand Central Station.  It's Norman Castellated style and soaring clock tower were the work of legendary Chicago architect Solon Beman in 1890.  His work inspired MDC Architects (also of Chicago) to create what would surely be a stunning new landmark in Frisco and North Texas!