Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce

Columbus Union Station is a former

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 ...

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

. 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 Eclecticism in architecture, eclectic style of architecture and decorative arts originating in the Second French Empire. It was characterized by elements of many differe ...

by the architectural firm, Bruce and Morgan. The station hosted the Central Railroad of Georgia, the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

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 is a coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a population of 6.14 million, is the second-largest metropolitan ...

'' (

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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

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 ...

- 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 the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, 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, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

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 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 ...

( 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, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

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, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

Railway stations in Georgia (U.S. state)

Railway stations in the United States opened in 1901 Railway stations in the United States closed in 1971 National Register of Historic Places in Muscogee County, Georgia