Punta Gorda Atlantic Coast Line Depot | |
Location | Punta Gorda, Florida, United States |
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Coordinates | 26°55′47″N82°2′45″W / 26.92972°N 82.04583°W |
Built | 1928 |
Architectural style | Mediterranean Revival |
MPS | Punta Gorda MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 90001797 [1] |
Added to NRHP | December 12, 1990 |
The Punta Gorda Atlantic Coast Line Depot is a historic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot in Punta Gorda, Florida, United States. It is located at 1009 Taylor Road.
Owned and maintained by the Punta Gorda Historical Society, the building houses a Black history exhibit and an antique mall. On December 12, 1990, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad built the depot in 1928 as one of many investments it made to its railroad network during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. It served as Punta Gorda's third passenger rail depot, replacing earlier depots built by the Atlantic Coast Line's predecessor the Florida Southern Railway. The original depot, built in 1886, was a small frame depot located within the railroad's turning wye. The second depot, built in 1897, was slightly larger and was located along King Street (which today carries northbound U.S. Highway 41). It was demolished along with the Coast Line's King Street dock to accommodate the construction of the original Barron Collier Bridge over the Peace River.
The Punta Gorda depot was built in Neo-Spanish architecture, and was one of only six depots the Atlantic Coast Line built in that style. Of those six, only two still stand today (the other is in Bradenton). [2]
Passenger rail service to Punta Gorda was discontinued in 1971. The building was eventually purchased by local landowner Fred Babcock, who donated it to the Punta Gorda Historical Society in 1996. The building today houses an antique mall. [3]
The depot's platform is still within the railroad's right of way. Seminole Gulf Railway, who operates the rail line today, uses the platform every Christmas season for its Christmas Rail-Boat evening excursions. Passengers arrive from Fort Myers and transfer to a bus for a Christmas light boat tour through Punta Gorda Isles. They then reboard for the return trip to Fort Myers. [4]
The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area. The rest of the line remains under the ownership of CSX Transportation as part of their A Line.
The Seminole Gulf Railway is a short line freight and passenger excursion railroad headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, that operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines in Southwest Florida. The company's Fort Myers Division, which was previously the southernmost segment of CSX's Fort Myers Subdivision, runs from Arcadia south to North Naples via Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, Estero, and Bonita Springs. The company's other line, the Sarasota Division, runs from Oneco south through Sarasota. Seminole Gulf acquired the lines in November 1987 and operates its own equipment. The company's first train departed Fort Myers on November 14, 1987.
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.
Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy.
The Union Depot and Atlantic Coast Line Freight Station is a historic site in Live Oak, Florida, United States. It is located at 208 North Ohio Avenue, on the corner of Haines Street Northeast. The station was built at one of two junctions of an Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Seaboard Air Line Railroad lines.
The Naples Seaboard Air Line Railway Station is a historic Seaboard Air Line Railway depot in Naples, Florida. It is located at 1051 5th Avenue, South.
Palatka station is a historic train station that was built in Palatka, Florida in 1908. The station currently serves Amtrak's Silver Service line and also houses the Palatka Railroad Preservation Society and the David Browning Railroad Museum. It is located at 220 North Eleventh Street, at the corner of North Eleventh Street's intersection with US 17/SR 100.
The Florida Southern Railway was a railroad that operated in Florida in the late 1800s. It was one of Florida's three notable narrow gauge railway when it was built along with the South Florida Railroad and the Orange Belt Railway. The Florida Southern was originally chartered to run from Lake City south through central Florida to Charlotte Harbor. However, with the influence of Henry B. Plant, it operated with two discontinuous segments that would be part of the Plant System, which would later become part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad.
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot or Atlantic Coast Line Depot may refer to:
Punta Gorda is a city located in Southwest Florida and is the county seat of Charlotte County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census the city had a population of 19,471. Punta Gorda is part of the Sarasota-Bradenton-Punta Gorda Combined Statistical Area.
The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's principal purpose was to transport phosphate mined along the Peace River and in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida to the port to be shipped. It also brought passengers to the island community of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island, and is largely responsible for making Boca Grande the popular tourist destination it is today. Part of the line remains in service today between Mulberry and Arcadia, which is now owned and operated by CSX Transportation. Today, it makes up CSX's Achan Subdivision and part of their Brewster Subdivision.
The Barron Collier Bridge is a bridge in Charlotte County, Florida that crosses the Peace River connecting Punta Gorda, Florida and Port Charlotte, Florida. It is 45 feet tall and carries two northbound lanes of U.S. Route 41. The southbound lanes cross the river on the adjacent Gilchrist Bridge. It was named for Barron G. Collier, a wealthy Southwest Florida land owner and entrepreneur.
The Seaboard–All Florida Railway was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that oversaw two major extensions of the system in the early 1920s to southern Florida on each coast during the land boom. One line extended the Seaboard's tracks on the east coast from West Palm Beach down to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, while the other extension on the west coast extended the tracks from Fort Ogden south to Fort Myers and Naples, with branches from Fort Myers to LaBelle and Punta Rassa. These two extensions were heavily championed by Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield, and were constructed by Foley Brothers railroad contractors. Both extensions also allowed the Seaboard to better compete with the Florida East Coast Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who already served the lower east and west coasts of Florida respectively.
The Tampa Southern Railroad was a subsidiary of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) originally running from Uceta Yard in Tampa south to Palmetto, Bradenton, and Sarasota with a later extension southeast to Fort Ogden in the Peace River valley built shortly after. It was one of many rail lines completed during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Most of the remaining trackage now serves as CSX Transportation's Palmetto Subdivision. Another short portion just east of Sarasota also remains that is now operated by Seminole Gulf Railway.
Albany Railroad Depot Historic District 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, the Union Station depot, the Railway Express Agency building and Albany's last remaining brick street and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).
The Brewster Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. The line runs from the Valrico Subdivision at Edison Junction south through Bradley Junction to Arcadia for a total of 47.2 miles. It junctions with the Achan Subdivision and the Agricola Spur at Bradley Junction, and connects to the Seminole Gulf Railway in Arcadia.
The Punta Gorda Linear Park is a mile-long rail trail in Punta Gorda, Florida. It runs from Cross Street near Helen Avenue southeast though a residential neighborhood to Fishermen's Village. Despite its short length, it connects to the Harborwalk at Fishermen's Village, which runs an additional two and a half miles northeast along the Peace River. It also connects to Punta Gorda's Shared-Use Path along Shreve Street.
CSX Transportation's Valrico Subdivision is a railroad line in Central Florida. It serves as CSX's main route through a region of Central Florida known as the Bone Valley, which contains the largest known deposits of phosphate in the United States.
Fishermen's Village is a waterfront shopping, entertainment, and resort complex located along Charlotte Harbor in Punta Gorda, Florida. It includes over 30 shops and restaurants and The Suites accommodations located on the second floor. It also includes a full service marina. Live music and other forms of entertainment are also common at Fishermen's Village
The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Lakeland—Fort Myers Line was one of the railroad company's secondary main lines in Central and Southwest Florida. It was built incrementally in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Parts of the line are still active today.
Preceding station | Atlantic Coast Line Railroad | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Cleveland toward Lakeland | Lakeland – Marco Island | Acline toward Marco Island |