Danville station, also known as Danville Southern Railway Passenger Depot, is a historic train station in

Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, located in the Southside Virginia region and on the fall line of the Dan River. It was a center of tobacco production and was an area of Confederate activity ...

. It is currently served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

, the United States' national passenger rail service, and is a stop on the ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hinduism, Lord Shiva is often shown wearing a crescent moon on his ...

'' line.

History

The station was built in 1899 from plans drawn by the noted Southern Railway architect,

Frank Pierce Milburn Frank Pierce Milburn (December 12, 1868 - September 21, 1926) was a prolific American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly courthouses and legislative buildings, ...

. In 1915, a track expansion required that the track be moved 133 feet to the northeast. The station was jacked up on rollers, and crews used mules and stump pullers to roll the building. It is said that the move was done so skillfully that not a single brick was cracked. In 1922, the building was almost destroyed by fire that broke out during a raging snowstorm, which prevented firefighting teams from reaching it. Southern Railway rebuilt the building to its original specifications, except for the spire that once topped the station. With the decline of passenger use of railroads, the building fell into disuse. For years it was closed and

passengers had to walk through a tunnel and wait for trains on an open platform between the tracks. In 1993 the station was closed to passenger service temporarily and bought by the City of Danville. In 1995, the station was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The same year, a group of local civic leaders sought federal

ISTEA The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA, pronounced ''Ice-Tea'') is a United States federal law that posed a major change to transportation planning and policy, as the first U.S. federal legislation on the subject in ...

funding and local contributions to renovate the station. In addition to serving Amtrak passengers, part of the station is now used as a campus of the

Danville Science Center Danville Science Center is a science museum affiliated with the Science Museum of Virginia located in the tobacco warehouse district of Danville, Virginia. The museum features rotating exhibits on the lower level and permanent exhibits on the uppe ...

. This is the first satellite facility of the

Science Museum of Virginia The Science Museum of Virginia is a science museum located in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1970, it is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is housed in the former Broad Street Station, built in 1917. History Early proposals In 1 ...

, coincidentally also a former train station. The station is also used for th
Danville Farmer's Market

References

External links

{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Amtrak stations in Virginia Transportation in Danville, Virginia Railway stations in the United States opened in 1899 Former Southern Railway (U.S.) stations Frank Pierce Milburn buildings Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Renaissance Revival architecture in Virginia Buildings and structures in Danville, Virginia National Register of Historic Places in Danville, Virginia Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Virginia