Terminal Station was the larger of two principal

train station A train station, railroad station, or railway station is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight, or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track, and a station building providing suc ...

s in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Union Station A union station, union terminal, joint station, or joint-use station is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway company, railway companies, allowing passengers to connect conveniently bet ...

being the other. Opening in 1905, Terminal Station served Southern Railway, Seaboard Air Line,

Central 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 constr ...

(including the '' Nancy Hanks'' to

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

), and the Atlanta and West Point. The

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

was P. Thornton Marye, whose firm also designed the Fox Theater and Capital City Club in downtown Atlanta, as well as the Birmingham Terminal Station. At the station's opening in 1905 the

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind instrument, wind and percussion instruments. The conducting, conductor of a ...

of the 16th Infantry Regiment played "Down in Dixie" according to a report that appeared in the ''

Atlanta Journal ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' (''AJC'') is an American daily newspaper based in metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger ...

''. On May 21, 1910, a statue of Samuel Spencer, who had served as the first president of Southern Railway, was dedicated at the station, where it would remain until the station's closing. In its 20th century heyday, Terminal Station was used by such well-known trains of the time as the ''

Crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

'', ''Man o' War'', '' Nancy Hanks'', '' Ponce de Leon'', and '' Silver Comet''. A veritable rail-travel crossroads of the American south-east, it was a critical railroad link between the warm climate of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

and the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

, and the rather colder, more densely populated states of the north-east and mid-west. For many residents of the Northeast, Terminal Station was the gateway to the sunshine. The Atlanta Convention Bureau released a postcard in the 1920s that claimed that Terminal Station was served by 86 trains per day. The

train shed A train shed is a building adjacent to a station building where the tracks and platforms of a railway station are covered by a roof. It is also known as an overall roof. Its primary purpose is to store and protect from the elements train car ...

that had originally been built alongside the

head house A head house or headhouse may be an enclosed building attached to an open-sided shed, including the piers extending into a waterway, or the aboveground part of a subway station. Markets In the 18th and early 19th centuries, head houses were oft ...

was torn down in 1925. The Southern Railway built an office building next door to the station at 99 Spring Street that is still standing, although the Southern eventually moved their local offices to another building in Atlanta. On 17 May 1938 a five-story Terminal Hotel, that had been built across the street from Terminal Station, burned in a disaster that claimed 27 lives. The station head house was renovated in 1947 just after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After Terminal Station closed in June 1970, Southern continued to operate its ''Southern Crescent'' and ''Piedmont'' passenger trains using the much smaller Peachtree Station, commonly known as Brookwood Station and built as a suburban station, as their only stop in Atlanta. The only other passenger train remaining at that time that had been using Terminal Station, the ''Nancy Hanks,'' used a makeshift ticket office and waiting room in the Southern office building next door. Terminal Station was razed in 1972, and the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, built in 1979, currently occupies the site. The last remains of the station were an interlocking tower and a portion of one of the station platforms retained by the Southern, the former demolished in June, 2018, and the latter demolished November, 2019.

Major trains

*Atlanta & West Point; and Southern Railway **''

'': New York - New Orleans *Central of Georgia Railway **''Man O'War'': Atlanta - Columbus **'' Nancy Hanks'': Atlanta - Savannah **'' Southland'': Chicago- St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Miami *Seaboard Air Line (Seaboard Coast Line after 1967) **''Cotton Blossom'': New York - Birmingham **''Passenger Mail and Express'': Washington and Portsmouth - Birmingham **'' Silver Comet'': New York and Portsmouth - Birmingham *Southern Railway **''Florida Sunbeam'' (winter only): Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland - Miami **'' Kansas City–Florida Special'': Kansas City - Jacksonville **''New Yorker'': New York - Atlanta **''Peach Queen'': New York - Atlanta, with through sleepers continuing west to Shreveport on the '' Southwestern Limited'' **'' Piedmont Limited'': New York - Atlanta **'' Ponce de Leon'': Cincinnati - Miami and St. Petersburg **''

Royal Palm ''Roystonea regia'', commonly known as the royal palm, Cuban royal palm, or Florida royal palm, is a species of Arecaceae, palm native to Mexico, the Caribbean, Florida, and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been plan ...

'': Cincinnati - Jacksonville **'' Southerner'': New York - Birmingham **''Sunnyland'': Atlanta - Birmingham **''Washington-Atlanta-New Orleans Express''

References

Bibliography

External links

* {{Atlanta landmarks

Former railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state) Railway stations in Atlanta Union stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States opened in 1905

Former Central of Georgia Railway stations Demolished railway stations in the United States Buildings and structures demolished in 1972 Demolished buildings and structures in Atlanta Railway stations in the United States closed in 1970

Major trains

See also

References

Bibliography

External links