Columbus Union Station was a

union station A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. The building was built in 1901 and was designed in the

Second Empire style Second Empire style, also known as the Napoleon III style, is a highly eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts, which uses elements of many different historical styles, and also made innovative use of modern materials, such as i ...

by the architectural firm, Bruce and Morgan. The station hosted the

Central Railroad of Georgia The Central of Georgia Railway started as the Central Rail Road and Canal Company in 1833. As a way to better attract investment capital, the railroad changed its name to Central Rail Road and Banking Company of Georgia. This railroad was cons ...

, the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

and the Southern Railway. It was located at 1200 Sixth Avenue, directly north of 12th Street, Columbus. By 1932 Seaboard Air Line passenger trains stopped calling at the station, as the road's operations through Columbus became freight-only. The SAL previously had run passenger trains to Richland, then to Albany.

Notable passenger train service

At the opening of the 1940s service included: *Central of Georgia: **''

City of Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

'' (

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

) **''Floridan'' (Chicago - Miami) **''Man O' War'' (

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

- Columbus via Newnan) **''

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

'' (Chicago -

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, with through sleepers to Miami) Additionally, the Central of Georgia operated local morning and afternoon trains from

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

through Columbus to Macon. In the latter 1940s and early 1950s this became a night train route with trains going continuous beyond Macon to Savannah ( Central of Georgia Depot). By late 1953 all passenger service between Columbus and Macon had ended. *Southern Railway: The Southern operated a local train from Columbus to Atlanta via Warm Springs, Griffin and McDonough. Passenger service on this route was discontinued between 1946 and 1949. The last trains operating out of Columbus in early 1971 were the ''Man O' War'' and the ''City of Miami.''Trains magazine
'Passenger trains operating on the eve of Amtrak'
Passenger services ended and the station closed, with the passing of passenger operations to

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

on May 1, 1971.

Disposition in recent decades

Union Station was added to 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 ...

in 1980. However, the building was vulnerable to demolition. Yet, various activists, and the Historic Columbus Foundation, Southern Railway System, and the Consolidated Government of Columbus mobilized to save the station. The building remains intact and serves as the chamber of commerce office for the metropolitan area.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * {{coord, 32.46896, -84.98435, format=dms, type:railwaystation_region:US-GA, display=title Former railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state)

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

Railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state)

Union stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1901 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1971