Prime AV produces galas, fundraisers, launches, and weddings at Union Station with our own crew and equipment, designed for a 92 foot gold leaf ceiling, marble floors, and a train station that never closes.
Main Hall galas for 2,000, East Hall receptions under the skylights, Presidential Suite dinners: ground supported lighting, line array audio, and a show caller who respects the room.
Union Station’s Main Hall is 29,750 square feet of white marble under a 92 foot barrel vaulted ceiling finished in 23 karat gold leaf, restored after the 2011 earthquake. It takes 2,200 at dinner or 5,000 standing, and it is one of the few rooms in Washington where the architecture is the decor.
A gala here is lit, not decorated: uplighting on the columns, washes on the coffers, and a stage that reads from the far end of a 238 foot room. We ground support everything, because nothing hangs from a landmark ceiling, and we design the audio for stone, marble, and a train station that never closes.
Marble floors, stone walls, and a 92 foot ceiling mean long reverb, and the station is an active Amtrak, MARC, VRE, and Metro hub, so crowd noise and the occasional train rumble are part of the room.
We use line array systems with delay zones so speech stays intelligible at every table, tune the system for the hall’s reverb before doors, and keep the program audio under control so the room sounds grand rather than loud.
The East Hall is 6,400 square feet with a 31 foot ceiling and skylights, for 800 at a reception or 450 at dinner. The Columbus Club takes 330 at dinner, and the Presidential Suite, built for presidents awaiting their trains, seats 240 under a vaulted ceiling with arched windows.
Daylight through the East Hall skylights drives the screen choice toward LED for daytime programs. In the Presidential Suite and Columbus Club we scale down: elegant sound, uplighting, and a screen that fits the architecture.
Union Station hosts association galas, fundraisers, inaugural balls, brand launches in the Main Hall, and weddings in the Presidential Suite and Main Hall. Rental runs through Events at Union Station and catering is handled in house, so the AV budget is its own conversation.
We produce the whole program: stage, LED wall or projection, lighting design, line array audio, cameras and IMAG for a 2,000 person dinner, live streaming for the donors who could not attend, and a show caller who keeps a five hour evening on time.
The station is open around the clock to passengers, load in windows are tight, and the building is a historic landmark where floors and finishes must be protected. Professional camera equipment such as tripods needs a permit through station management, with weeks of lead time.
We advance every detail with the venue team: load in route and timing, floor protection, cable paths that keep public circulation clear, power, and the camera permit. Our crews have produced in historic buildings across the District and know the rules before the first case rolls.
Union Station is a Beaux Arts landmark and a working transit hub at the same time. These are the published facts that shape an AV plan here.
From 5,000 standing to a dinner for 12.
Marble, stone, and skylights.
Nothing hangs, everything is protected.
A station open 24 hours.
Production companies produce the galas and launches held in the Main Hall and East Hall, coordinating with the Events at Union Station team on load in, power, floor protection, and permits. We bring our own sound, lighting, LED, cameras, and crew and give you one itemized quote.
From the ground. Uplighting on the columns, washes on the coffered ceiling, and freestanding truss or towers for stage lighting and screens. Nothing is attached to the landmark ceiling or walls, and the room is lit to show off the architecture rather than cover it.
Line array speakers with delay zones so speech is intelligible at every table, system tuning for the hall’s reverb before doors, and disciplined program levels. We also plan for ambient station noise and the occasional train.
Yes. Cameras and switching for IMAG in the room and a clean program feed for the stream, a dedicated stream engineer, and recording for the recap. Camera equipment permits go through station management with several weeks of lead time, which we handle in the advance.
Venue rental and catering are handled through Events at Union Station; production is separate. For a Main Hall gala, plan for stage, LED wall or projection, lighting design, line array audio, IMAG cameras, and a show caller. We quote flat and itemized so you see every line.
Download our free Event AV & Production RFP Template, fill in what you know, and email it to sales@goprimeav.com. We will help you build the scope.
Download the RFP TemplatePlanning a gala at Union Station?
You will get a lighting and audio plan for the room, an itemized quote, and a crew that knows how to work inside a landmark.
