Savannah Union Station was a train station in Savannah, Georgia. It was located at 419 through 435 West Broad Street, between Stewart and Roberts streets, on the site that is now listed as 435 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. It hosted 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 The Savannah and Northwestern Railway was a railroad in the U.S. state of Georgia. From 1906 to 1914, it was named the Brinson Railway after its owner, George M. Brinson, a businessman who had earlier built the Stillmore Air Line Railway. The l ...

used other stations in Savannah.

Architecture

Union Station, Savannah, GA (NBY 429332)

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 South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

segregation system, a ''colored waiting room'' was assigned to African-Americans. The exterior walls were made of pressed brick with granite and terra cotta trimmings. The building also had two towers.

Significance and history

Many visitors disembarked trains onto West Broad Street. 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. 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 Interstate 16 (I-16), also known as Jim Gillis Historic Savannah Parkway, is an east–west Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Georgia. It carries the hidden designation of State Route 404 (SR 404) for it ...

.Acosta, Ruben A. 'Savannah‟s Union Station: Architecture and the Gateway in the South' Master's Thesis, Savannah College of Art and Design, 2010

Named trains

Several named trains made stops at the station:

Current use of the site

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.

References

{{Savannah, Georgia Former railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state) Railway stations in the United States opened in 1902 Demolished railway stations in the United States Union Station Railway stations closed in 1962 Union stations in the United States Frank Pierce Milburn buildings Former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad stations Former Southern Railway (U.S.) stations Former Seaboard Air Line Railroad stations 1902 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Seaboard Air Line Railroad stations

Architecture

Significance and history

Named trains

Current use of the site

See also

References