Savannah Union Station was a train station in Savannah, Georgia. It was located at 419–435 West Broad Street, between Stewart and Roberts Streets. It incorporated the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and the Southern Railway. While the term, union station, in the United States generally implies a station that hosts all train companies stopping in a city, the Central of Georgia and the Savannah and Atlanta Railway used other stations in Savannah.[1]

Savannah Union Station
Savannah Union Station, rendering by architect Frank P. Milburn
General information
Line(s)Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Construction
ArchitectFrank Pierce Milburn
Architectural styleSpanish Renaissance and Elizabethian styles
History
Opened1902; 122 years ago (1902)
Closed1962; 62 years ago (1962)
Former services
Preceding station Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Following station
Georgetown
toward Tampa
Main Line Hardeeville
toward Richmond
Preceding station Seaboard Air Line Railroad Following station
Interstate
toward Tampa or Miami
Main Line Clyo
toward Richmond
Terminus East Carolina Line Pritchard
toward Hamlet
Meldrim
toward Montgomery
Montgomery – Savannah Terminus
Preceding station Southern Railway Following station
Hardeeville
toward Charlotte
CharlotteSavannah Terminus

Architecture

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Exterior view of Union Station, 1904

It was designed by Columbia, South Carolina, architect Frank Pierce Milburn and completed in 1902 at a cost of $150,000. It was an example of Spanish Renaissance and Elizabethian styles. The main feature of the structure was an octagonal rotunda which measured 80 feet in diameter and served as the general waiting room. Since most of the station's history took place under the South's Jim Crow segregation system, a colored waiting room was assigned to African-Americans.[2]

The exterior walls were made of pressed brick with granite and terra cotta trimmings. The building also had two towers.

Significance and history

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Many visitors disembarked trains onto West Broad Street.[3] They brought enough business for theaters, bars, stores to open in that section of town. For decades, the Union Station and its surroundings became known as the economic and cultural center for Black Savannah.[4]

In August 1962 the remaining passenger trains were shifted to the new Atlantic Coast Line station on the periphery of Savannah, which remains in use today by Amtrak. A year later, Union Station was demolished to make room for Interstate 16 and what would eventually be known as the Earl T. Shinhoster Interchange.[5]

Named trains

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Several named trains made stops at the station:

Operators Named trains Northern destination Southern destination
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (train continued later under Amtrak) Champion New York, New York St. Petersburg, Florida and Miami, Florida
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Everglades Washington, D.C. Jacksonville, Florida
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Havana Special New York, New York Tampa, Florida and Miami, Florida
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (train continued later under Amtrak) Palmetto (ACL train) New York, New York terminus
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Palmland New York, New York Tampa, Florida and Miami, Florida
Seaboard Air Line Railroad (train continued later under Amtrak) Silver Meteor New York, New York Miami, Florida
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Sunland Washington, D.C. and Portsmouth, Virginia Tampa, Florida
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Tidewater Portsmouth, Virginia Jacksonville, Florida
Southern Railway Skyland Special Asheville, North Carolina Jacksonville, Florida

Current use of the site

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An Enmark service station (405 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd) is located nearby what was once the site of the Union Station.

The Savannah Visitor Information Center is in the former Central of Georgia Depot and Trainshed, located nearby, at 301 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Official Guide of the Railways, August 1936, Index of Stations
  2. ^ The Savannah Press, December 13, 1900
  3. ^ Revitalizing MLK Boulevard: Enough business to go around?, Christian Livermore, Savannah Morning News, May 20, 2007
  4. ^ "The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum, The New Georgia Encyclopedia, History & Archeology". Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. Retrieved 2007-09-26.
  5. ^ Acosta, Ruben A. 'Savannah‟s Union Station: Architecture and the Gateway in the South' Master's Thesis, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2010

32°04′26″N 81°05′56″W / 32.074°N 81.099°W / 32.074; -81.099