On December 22, 1914, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad was merged with the New York Central. In 1913, the city of Erie appointed a committee of city planners and civil engineers led by John Nolen that was tasked with determining the best course of action to support the continued growth of the city. In its final report, the committee recommended, among other civic improvements, that "for the improvement of the railroad facilities in Erie" a new Union Station be constructed, as well as the "abolition of all [railroad] crossings". At the time, the only streets in Erie where the railroad was grade separated were State, French, and Ash Streets, and Buffalo Road, while the remainder had level crossings. The committee felt it was desirable that, on account of Erie's topography and the existing railroad grades, the tracks be raised in the downtown to accommodate new roadway underpasses. The city signed an agreement on September 30, 1915 with the New York Central and the Pennsylvania railroads to eliminate every level crossing between Ash and Cascade Streets through the construction of bridges or the closing of the streets. As compensation, both railroads pledged to replace Union Depot with a new station. The work to re-grade and install drainage on Peach and Sassafras Streets coincided with the building of the station from 1925 to 1927, and cost the city approximately $110,000. A temporary station was also erected at 14th and French Streets, and was used after the old Union Depot was demolished in 1925 until the completion of the new station. Union Station was dedicated on December 3, 1927, in a ceremony presided over by the presidents of the New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads, the mayor of Erie Joseph Williams, and former mayor William Stern who helped initiate the project. The Griswold Plaza Post Office, on the north side of 14th Street, opened in 1932 along with the tunnel connecting it to Union Station. When service from Union Station was inaugurated in 1928, both eastbound and westbound trains were departing the station almost every hour bound for destinations across the United States. Passengers in the station's expansive waiting room could patronize its news stand, telegraph office, barber shop, shoeshine stand, or its lunch counter and soda fountain. Train schedules were handwritten on a large blackboard, while station staff announced the arrival and impending departures of the trains by megaphone. In the 1930s, the New York Central provided the majority of the service in Erie with over 20 trains daily, including the original "Lake Shore Limited".