Railroad Stations and Depots, Historical Buildings and Architectural MasterpiecesAmerican railroad stations (also known as terminals and depots) used to be an all too common sight in our country as almost every town, large and small, could claim one, which was largely due to the fact that railroads once went literally everywhere, reaching almost any and every town.As the railroad industry progressed and grew, so did its stations which became more and more ornate and grand, ultimately culminating in this country’s (and perhaps even the world’s) greatest and most stunning station ever built, New York City’s grand Pennsylvania Station (or Penn Stations) constructed by the mighty Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) at the beginning of the 20th century and opened in 1910.
While Penn Station was without question this country’s most famous railroad station those which served the smaller towns and cities across the country were much more than just buildings to load and unload passengers. For many years until the automobile became a reliable means of transportation the railroad station/depot was the center of life for these towns as it was the only means to the outside world for most folks. Not only did you use the building to board and de-board your train it also usually always delivered the goods you purchased. Railroad stations built during the 19th and early 20th centuries were true works of art, many with designs which reflected the Victorian or Roman eras as well as being constructed many times from the very same materials such as marble and crystal, which is a big reason why many are preserved and so coveted today (especially after the loss of Penn Station which used countless tons of many different types of marble in its construction). Even the stations and depots from the same time period which built from wood and/or brick were likewise constructed with beautiful designs in mind (many of these were also from the Victorian era), which is why those smaller towns and cities who have preserved their depots take such pride in them (and many times these buildings are the centerpiece efforts in revitalizing their downtown areas, whether the tracks still remain in place or not).
As the automobile came of age, however, and our highway infrastructure became much better the local railroad station fell from importance and no longer was the most essential building in towns and cities. As the 1950s came so went the local depot in most smaller towns and cities where the car or truck was much more accessible and reliable for the short to medium distances folks usually traveled (it was also a huge financial drain on the railroads to maintain these smaller depots where the little passenger traffic there quickly dried up after World War II, so they were very happy to discontinue these trains and shutdown the depots if possible). And, by the 1960s even the larger and more prominent railroad stations were not immune to closure or demolition. Many of these stations are prominent and truly beautiful enough to worthy extra mention and are listed here: Terminal Station (The Chattanooga Choo Choo) Los Angeles Union Station (Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, LAUPT)
The information below is a compilation of many railroad stations which still survive across the country, broken down by state.
Save for a few railroads, all of our classical railroad stations were built by railroads long since resigned to history. To learn more about our "fallen flags," as they are known, please click here.
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