(UPDATE) Remembering Atlanta’s Terminal and Union rail stations
June 25, 2009 at 8:33 am by Thomas Wheatley in News
Terminal Station
The Infrastructurist has a great post examining some of the country’s most beautiful train stations that were demolished to make way for bland developments or parking lots.
Atlanta receives shout outs for Terminal Station and Union Station. Both buildings were razed long ago to make way for the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and a parking lot, respectively.
About Terminal Station:
Atlanta was once the largest rail crossroads in the south. Travelers could get virtually everywhere quickly and conveniently by rail. Built in 1905, Terminal was the grand portal to the city. It had two Italianate towers and a huge train shed behind. When the station was razed in 1970, it was replaced by a government office building. These days Atlanta’s intercity rail depot is a small former commuter rail station located far north of downtown, adjacent to a 16-lane highway.
For another beautiful photo of Terminal Station, visit the cleverly named Terminal Station, an Atlanta blog focused on urban issues and development.
UPDATE: A reader whose family member works in the railroad industry sends word:
The statue you see in front of the station (on the little grass island) was placed in front of the Norfolk Southern Railway office building on Peachtree St. just a few weeks ago. It’s of Samuel Spencer, the first president of the Southern Railway. The interesting part is that it was sculpted by the same artist who did the Lincoln Memorial, Daniel Chester French.
(H/T to Dominick Brady, Photo courtesy GSU via Infrastructurist)
June 25th, 2009 at 11:51 am
Sad that 3 stations on that list were from Georgia.
June 25th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
I hope that if/when a new multi-modal station is built, we won’t make a similar mistake of tearing down the old Atlanta Constitution building to make room.
June 29th, 2009 at 10:29 pm
Contrary to what I initially thought, Terminal Station wasn’t demolished to make way for the Russell building. The rail company tore it down because it cost too much to maintain it, either in taxes or maintenance, etc. It had been closed for a number of years before they tore it down. It had been vacant land for a maybe 8-9 years before the Russell building was built there.
I’m told that one of the cupolas off of Terminal Station is in front of the Woodruff Inn youth hostel on Ponce de Leon – it looks pretty close to the old pictures, so I’m inclined to believe it.