Gainesville station (Florida)

The Old Gainesville Depot (also known as the Seaboard Air Line Depot or Baird Warehouse) is a historic site at 203 Southeast Depot Avenue in Gainesville, Florida. It is located along the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail State Park.

Old Gainesville Depot
Gainesville SAL Depot restored in 1910 color scheme. The 1910 passenger depot is on the left. The 1860 freight house is on the right.
Gainesville station (Florida) is located in Florida
Gainesville station (Florida)
Gainesville station (Florida) is located in the United States
Gainesville station (Florida)
LocationGainesville, Florida
Coordinates29°38′42.7″N 82°19′22.8″W
Built1860; 1910
NRHP reference No.96001369[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 22, 1996

The station was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on November 22, 1996.

History

Early history

Part of the Depot was built around 1860 to serve the Florida Railroad, which reached Gainesville from Fernandina in 1859.[2] It is one of only three surviving railroad depots in the state built prior to the start of the American Civil War.[3] The depot was situated with tracks on both sides.

Remodeling

Between 1892 and 1897, the depot was remodeled to provide two passenger waiting rooms, with one for whites and one for blacks.[4][5] A new passenger depot with segregated waiting rooms was built in 1910, and the old depot was moved and attached as a freight house to the passenger depot.

Discontinuation

Between 1932 and 1938, the Seaboard Air Line ceased running its passenger trains through the station, including a line that ran from Waldo to Tampa via the Gainesville station.[6][7]

Depot operations were moved to a new building where East University Avenue crossed the rail line in January, 1948.[8] By this point, Florida Motor Tours, and later, Greyhound Bus, were providing Jacksonville - Tampa replacement bus service at the station.[9] After the railroad opened the new depot, the old depot building was used by Baird Hardware, Gator Ice and Voyles Appliance store.

Acquisition and restoration
Restored freight scale

The City of Gainesville acquired the depot building in 1999.[10]

The depot has been restored, and painted in the same colors, and with the same style metal roof shingles, used in 1910. The freight scale in the depot has also been restored. The restored depot is part of the Depot Park developed by the City of Gainesville which opened in August 2016.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. Smith, Chad (September 8, 2011). "City kicks off effort to revitalize old train depot". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  3. "Florida Civil War Heritage Trail" (PDF). Florida Division of Historical Resources. p. 23. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  4. Map of Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, 1892, Sheet 1. Sanborn Map Company. Accessed December 9, 2012
  5. Map of Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, 1897, Sheet 7. Sanborn Map Company. Accessed December 9, 2012
  6. "Seaboard Air Line, Table 32". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 64 (9). February 1932.
  7. "Seaboard Air Line, Table 44, freight only". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 71 (3). August 1938.
  8. Davis, Jess G. (1966). History of Gainesville, Florida with biographical sketches of families. p. 99.
  9. "Seaboard Air Line, Table 53". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 78 (12). May 1946.
  10. The Historic Depot Building: a Depot Park Project. Gainesville, Florida: Gainesville Community Redevelopment Agency.
  11. Curry, Christopher (April 30, 2012). "Work on historic Gainesville Depot progresses as city develops its central park". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  12. "The History of Depot Park". Depot Park. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
Preceding station Seaboard Air Line Railroad Following station
Kanapaha
toward Tampa
 Brooksville Subdivision Nedra
toward Waldo
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