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.
Thronateeska's campus includes a history museum, science museum, rail car display, and a 40' full dome HD planetarium system, the first in the world of its kind. The museum facilities are housed in historic structures and new construction designed to reflect and retain the railroad heritage of the area. Thronateeska has an archives and collections department, which catalogues, stores, and cares for all of the collections at Thronateeska, and is open to the public for research purposes.
The word "Thronateeska" has been used and interpreted in Southwest Georgia as the Creek Native American name for the Flint River. The word relates to a Creek village called "Thronateeska" that existed over 300 years ago on the banks of the Flint River near Albany.
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 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 of Historic Places with the Union Station depot and listed as Albany's Railroad Depot Historic District. [2]
The purpose of what is now the Thronateeska Heritage Center, as outlined in Section 4, the Third Article of the "Agreement and Plan of Consolidation" dated May 2, 1974, between Albany Area Junior Museum, Inc, and Southwest Georgia Historical Society, Inc. is as follows:
•To promote the study of culture, traditions, customs and way of life of peoples of today and their predecessors, particularly in the area of South Georgia;
•To promote the preservation of historical and cultural artifacts and materials and to disseminate facts and information concerning the history, culture, arts, crafts, customs and way of life, particularly in South Georgia;
•To promote the conservation and preservation of artifacts, places and things illustrative of culture, customs, and way of life, particularly in South Georgia;
•To promote the study of and to disseminate information with respect to natural science and the environment, particularly in South Georgia;
•To establish and maintain a museum and natural science center primarily for the benefit of residents of South Georgia;
•To cooperate with and to assist schools, colleges, libraries and other organizations in South Georgia having similar objectives in advancing knowledge of and interest in South Georgia and in the natural history of South Georgia;
•To promote, sponsor or provide exhibitions, lectures, educational films, field trips, and other educational projects in furtherance of the Corporation's purposes;
•To acquire, hold, administer, preserve, and sell real and personal property having historical or cultural interest or significance primarily in South Georgia; and
•To encourage research, scholarship, and publications on subjects being promoted by the Corporation. [3]
Dougherty County is located in the southwestern portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 94,565. The county seat and sole incorporated city is Albany.
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, Georgia metropolitan area. The population was 77,434 at the 2010 U.S. Census, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It became prominent in the nineteenth century as a shipping and market center, first served by riverboats. Scheduled steamboats connected Albany with the busy port of Apalachicola, Florida. They were replaced by railroads. Seven lines met in Albany, and it was a center of trade in the Southeast. It is part of the Black Belt, the extensive area in the Deep South of cotton plantations. From the mid-20th century, it received military investment during World War II and after, that helped develop the region. Albany and this area were prominent during the civil rights era, particularly during the early 1960s as activists worked to regain voting and other civil rights. Railroad restructuring and reduction in the military here caused job losses, but the city has developed new businesses.
Marshall station is a railroad station in Marshall, Texas. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, which operates the Texas Eagle through Marshall each day, with service north to Chicago and west-southwest to Dallas, San Antonio and Los Angeles. The station also houses the Texas and Pacific Railway Depot & Museum.
The John Hay Center is on the eastern edge of the Salem Downtown Historic District in Salem, Indiana. It comprises:
The Fullerton Transportation Center is a passenger rail and bus station located in Fullerton, California, United States.
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 Union Pacific Railroad Depot in Concordia, Kansas, is a historic railroad depot that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is one of many built by the Union Pacific Railroad to assist with the company's growth across the United States.
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.
The St. Louis County Depot is a historic train station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It was built as a union station in 1892, serving seven railroads at its peak. Rail service ceased in 1969 and the building was threatened with demolition until it reopened in 1973 as The Depot St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center. Train service also resumed from 1974 to 1985, by Amtrak.
Linden Depot is a historic train station located at Linden, Montgomery County, Indiana. In 1852 the New Albany and Salem Railroad Railroad cut through Montgomery County, Indiana. The old stage road between Crawfordsville and Linden was given to the railroad as an inducement to get them to build through Linden. 1852 also saw the building of the first Linden depot, on a site behind the present day Post Office. The building was moved to the current location in 1881 when the Toledo, St. Louis and Western Railroad was built through Linden, crossing the Monon at this location.
There are 75 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Albany, New York, United States. Six are additionally designated as National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), the most of any city in the state after New York City. Another 14 are historic districts, for which 20 of the listings are also contributing properties. Two properties, both buildings, that had been listed in the past but have since been demolished have been delisted; one building that is also no longer extant remains listed.
The Herndon Depot Museum, also known as the Herndon Historical Society Museum, is located in the town of Herndon in Fairfax County, Virginia. Built in 1857 for the Alexandria, Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad, the depot later served the Richmond and Danville Railroad, the Southern Railway and the Washington and Old Dominion Railroad.
Kansas City Union Station is a union station opened in 1914, serving Kansas City, Missouri, and the surrounding metropolitan area. It replaced a small Union Depot from 1878. Union Station served a peak annual traffic of more than 670,000 passengers in 1945 at the end of World War II, quickly declined in the 1950s, and was closed in 1985.
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 Albany Welcome Center, formerly known as the Bridge House, is a historic residential building in Albany, Georgia. It was designed by African American architect and engineer Horace King and built in 1858. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 19, 1974. It is located at 112 North Front Street.
The Atlanta Zero Mile Post is a stone marker which marked the terminus of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in Atlanta, US. It was located in a disused building in Downtown Atlanta, within the Underground Atlanta Historic District, under the Central Ave. viaduct, between Alabama and Wall streets. The Zero Mile Post was recognized with a historical marker by the Georgia Historical Commission in 1958 and entered into the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It was delisted in 2019.
The St. Johnsbury Historic District encompasses much of the historic civic and commercial center of St. Johnsbury, Vermont. Representing a significant expansion of the Railroad Street Historic District and the St. Johnsbury Main Street Historic District, it captures the historical tension and competition between Main Street and Railroad Street for primacy as the town's most important civic and commercial areas. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.