Union Station depot | |
Location | Roosevelt Ave. and N. Front St. |
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Nearest city | Albany, Georgia |
Built | 1913 |
NRHP reference No. | 75000590 |
Added to NRHP | 1975 |
Albany Railroad Depot Historic District (Heritage Plaza) | |
Location | 211-213 Roosevelt Ave. |
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Nearest city | Albany, Georgia |
Coordinates | 31°34′55″N84°9′0″W / 31.58194°N 84.15000°W |
NRHP reference No. | 82002403 |
Added to NRHP | 1982 |
Albany Railroad Depot Historic District (also known as Heritage Plaza) is located at the 100 block of West Roosevelt Avenue in Albany, Georgia, United States, and is governed by the Thronateeska Heritage Center, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1974 for the purpose of historic preservation and science education in Southwest Georgia. The Heritage Plaza includes the Tift Warehouse (constructed in 1857), the Union Station depot (constructed in 1913), the Railway Express Agency building and Albany's last remaining brick street and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). [1]
Union station was built in 1912 to serve passenger trains of the Albany and Northern, Atlantic Coast Line (ACL), Central of Georgia, Georgia Northern, and Seaboard Air Line railroads, replacing an earlier 1857 depot. [2]
Major Louisville & Nashville and ACL trains making stops there included Seminole (Chicago-Florida), Flamingo (Cincinnati-Florida), City of Miami (Chicago-Florida), Dixie Flyer (Chicago and St. Louis to Florida), Dixie Limited (Chicago-Florida), and Southland (Cincinnati-Florida). [3]
An unnamed service by the Central of Georgia operated through the station, from Atlanta, making a layover in Albany, and continuing to the Gulf Coast resort of Panama City, Florida. [4]
The City of Miami was the last passenger train to operate out of Albany in 1971.
In 1974, concerned and community-spirited citizens championed the cause for revitalization of the historic downtown railroad depot area. Thronateeska Heritage Foundation, Inc. resulted from the merger of the Southwest Georgia Historical Society, organized in 1969, and the Albany Junior Museum, Inc., founded in 1959 by the Junior League of Albany.
Through Thronateeska's efforts, the 1913 Union Station depot, located in what is now known as Heritage Plaza, was preserved as a legendary landmark, converted into a museum, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. [1] The Wetherbee Planetarium was originally opened in the old Railway Express Agency (REA) building in 1980. A new Wetherbee Planetarium and Science Museum was constructed between the Railway Express Agency building and the Fryer-Merritt House in 2008. The new building incorporated architectural features of the original 1926 Central Georgia Roundhouse on the façade of the building.
In 1982, the Tift Warehouse (constructed in 1857 as the original passenger and freight depot), the REA building and Albany's last remaining brick street were added to the National Register with the Union Station depot and listed as Albany’s Railroad Depot Historic District.
Other historic structures have been relocated to the Plaza to preserve historic structures. The Fryer-Merritt House, built in the 1880s at 411 Pine Avenue, was relocated to Heritage Plaza in 1994 and renovated. The Hilsman Kitchen was originally moved from the home site of Dr. Hilsman (one of Albany's first doctors) to Heritage Plaza in 1977 and placed next to the REA building. [5]
Albany is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia. Located on the Flint River, it is the seat of Dougherty County, and is the sole incorporated city in that county. Located in Southwest Georgia, it is the principal city of the Albany metropolitan area. The city's population was 68,089 in 2020.
The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad was chartered in February 1856 by act of the Georgia General Assembly. It was also known as the Main Trunk Railroad. It traversed south Georgia from Screven to Bainbridge, Georgia. Construction began in early January 1859. Its construction was halted by the American Civil War. Construction began again after the end of the war and the line was completed to Bainbridge, Georgia by late December 1867. The route never reached all the way to the Gulf of Mexico as it had originally had intended. The company went bankrupt in 1877 and was bought in 1879 by Henry B. Plant and became incorporated into his Plant System. Its main line is currently operated by CSX Transportation. Throughout its history, the Atlantic and Gulf was closely associated with the Savannah and Albany Railroad Company and its successor the Savannah, Albany, and Gulf Railroad.
The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was constructed to join the Macon and Western Railroad at Macon, Georgia, in the United States, and run to Savannah. This created a rail link from Chattanooga, on the Tennessee River, to seaports on the Atlantic Ocean. It took from 1837 to 1843 to build the railroad from Savannah to the eastern bank of the Ocmulgee River at Macon; a bridge into the city was not built until 1851.
Union Station, Union Terminal, Union Depot, or Union Passenger Station may refer to:
The Ocala Union Station is a bus station and former train station in Ocala, Florida, United States. It is located at 531 Northeast First Avenue, and was built in 1917 by both the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroad. Prior to this, ACL and SAL had separate depots in Ocala. The former ACL station was originally built by the Florida Southern Railroad, while the former SAL station was built by the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. On December 22, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Louisville and Nashville Passenger Station and Express Building is a historic Louisville and Nashville Railroad passenger train depot in Pensacola, Florida.
The Fullerton Transportation Center is a passenger rail and bus station located in Fullerton, California, United States.
The Union Station built in 1930 in Atlanta was the smaller of two principal train stations in downtown, Terminal Station being the other. It was the third "union station" or "union depot", succeeding the 1853 station, burned in mid-November 1864 when Federal forces left Atlanta for the March to the Sea, and the 1871 station.
Tallahassee station, also known as the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company Freight Depot, is a historic train station in Tallahassee, Florida. It was built in 1858 and was served by various railways until 2005, when Amtrak suspended service due to Hurricane Katrina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Baton Rouge station is a historic train station located at 100 South River Road in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was built for the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad which got absorbed by the Illinois Central Railroad. The station was a stop on the Y&MV main line between Memphis, Tennessee and New Orleans, Louisiana. The building now houses the Louisiana Art and Science Museum.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a US Class I railroad from 1900 until 1967. The following former and active train stations were previously used by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Many of them are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Georgia State Railroad Museum is a museum in Savannah, Georgia located at a historic Central of Georgia Railway site. It includes parts of the Central of Georgia Railway: Savannah Shops and Terminal Facilities National Historic Landmark District. The complex is considered the most complete antebellum railroad complex in the United States. The museum, located at 655 Louisville Road, is part of a historic district included in the National Register of Historic Places.
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad station is a former freight railway station in St. Petersburg, Florida, which has been designated by the city of St. Petersburg as a local landmark. The structure is located at 420 22nd Street South.
The Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, now Landry's Grand Concourse restaurant in Station Square Plaza in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an historic building that was erected in 1898. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.
Thronateeska Heritage Center is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization incorporated in 1974 for the purpose of historic preservation and science education in Southwest Georgia. Thronateeska is located at Heritage Plaza, the 100 block of West Roosevelt Avenue in Albany, Georgia, United States.
The Dixie Flyer was a premier named passenger train that operated from 1892 to 1965 via the "Dixie Route" from Chicago and St. Louis via Evansville, Nashville, and Atlanta to Florida. However, the train continued until 1969 as an Atlanta to Florida operation, run solely by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line. The Flyer's route varied in early years, but by about 1920 was set as follows:
The Barnesville Depot is a historic site in Barnesville, Georgia. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 30, 1986. It is located at Plaza Way and Main Street. The station was constructed in 1912 for the Central of Georgia Railway. It is located at the junction of the Central's former Macon-Atlanta mainline and its branch to Thomaston, Georgia. The building includes Spanish or Mission architecture and replaced an earlier stone depot constructed in 1852 by the Macon & Western Railroad. It is now used as an arts center.
The Thomasville Depot in Thomasville, Georgia was built in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
Chattanooga Union Station, more commonly known as the Union Depot in Chattanooga, constructed between 1857 and 1859, served as a train car shed in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Located at Broad and Ninth Streets, the station was one of two major railroad terminals in the city, the other being the Southern Railway's Terminal Station.
Augusta Union Station was a train depot in Augusta, Georgia at 525 8th Street, serving trains from its opening in 1903 to its closing in 1968. The Spanish Renaissance styled building was in central Augusta at Barrett Square, five blocks from the banks of the Savannah River.
Preceding station | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Terminus | Albany – Brunswick | Acree toward Brunswick | ||
Albany – Dunnellon | Putney toward Dunnellon | |||
Preceding station | Central of Georgia Railway | Following station | ||
Walker toward Lockhart | Lockhart – Macon | Forrester toward Macon |