Peachtree station

Atlanta Peachtree Station is a train station in Atlanta, Georgia. It is currently a service stop for Amtrak's Crescent passenger train. The street address is 1688 Peachtree Road, Northwest, in the Brookwood section of town between Buckhead and Midtown.

Atlanta, GA
Exterior of the station, 2022
General information
Location1688 Peachtree Road, N.W.
Atlanta, Georgia
United States
Coordinates33.79938°N 84.39275°W / 33.79938; -84.39275
Owned byNorfolk Southern Railway
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks2
ConnectionsBus transport MARTA: 110
Construction
ParkingYes; Paid; Limited
Bicycle facilitiesNo
AccessibleYes
Other information
Station codeAmtrak: ATL
History
OpenedMarch 17, 1918[1]
Passengers
FY 202249,579[2] (Amtrak)
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
Anniston
toward New Orleans
 Crescent Gainesville
toward New York
Former services
Preceding station Southern Railway Following station
Atlanta Terminal
toward Birmingham
 Main Line Oghethorpe University
toward Washington, D.C.
Peachtree Southern Railway Station
ArchitectHentz, Reid & Adler
Architectural styleRenaissance
NRHP reference No.76000628[3]
Added to NRHPSeptember 14, 1976
Location

History
Peachtree Station in Atlanta, Georgia, c. 1974

Designed by architect Neel Reid, it was built in 1918 as a commuter stop on the northside of town for the Southern Railway whose main stop was Terminal Station downtown. The new station was formally named Peachtree Station by Southern; informally it was widely referred to as Brookwood Station. It played a role roughly analogous to Boston's Back Bay station.

Amid a long decline in passenger rail service, Southern closed Terminal Station in 1970 and moved most of its services to the smaller Peachtree Station (though the Nancy Hanks continued to use a makeshift platform and ticket office near Terminal Station until it ended in 1971). That same year, the statue of Samuel Spencer was relocated from Terminal Station to Peachtree station, where it would stay until 1996. When Union Station closed in 1971 with the start of Amtrak, Peachtree Station became the only passenger station in Atlanta still open.

Southern was one of the few major railroads to stay in the passenger business when Amtrak launched. However, the three-decade decline in passenger service culminated in 1975, when Southern cut back service to a single train, what was then the Southern Crescent. It was the first time in Atlanta's railroad history that it was only served by just one train. Southern finally got out of the passenger business in 1979 and turned the Crescent over to Amtrak. Southern then leased Peachtree Station to Amtrak, a lease maintained after Southern merged into Norfolk Southern.

Presently, it is served by the Amtrak Crescent route with one train in each direction per day. The southbound #19 arrives at 8:43a and the northbound #20 arrives at 11:00p.

Architecture
The interior waiting room of Amtrak's Peachtree station in Atlanta

Designed in an Italian Renaissance style of architecture, the depot features Palladian windows and classical elements such as pilasters and a molded entablature.[4]

Amtrak passengers often note that the station is small and is elevated far above the tracks, requiring use of a long stairway or elevator. This design reflects the original intent of the station as a suburban stop and the much smaller size of Atlanta at the turn of the 20th century.

The interior of the station underwent an extensive remodeling in preparation for the 1996 Olympics, held in Atlanta.

Possible replacement

For some time, there have been proposals for a new Amtrak station in downtown. In April 2011, the city of Atlanta submitted an application for a grant seeking $22.5 million to relocate the station approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) south to Northside Drive and 17th Street, near the multi-use community of Atlantic Station.[5] However, the deal fell through, and the property instead sold to Fuqua Development.[6]

Amtrak's Crescent arrives at Peachtree station in Atlanta

In November 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation signed a $12.2 million contract with Cousins Properties, The Integral Group, and Forest City Enterprises to develop plans for a new station in The Gulch area near Five Points, close to the former site of the Terminal station. This station is intended to serve as a hub not only for Amtrak, but for MARTA, intercity buses, and the proposed commuter rail lines as well.[7]

Amtrak is continuing to negotiate with MARTA, Norfolk Southern, and the GDOT as it explores options for replacing its facility. Among the options currently under consideration is the site of the former General Motors assembly plant adjacent to the Doraville MARTA station.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Peachtree Station Will Open March 17 for Public Service". The Atlanta Constitution. March 7, 1918. p. 1. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2022: State of Georgia" (PDF). Amtrak. June 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2023.
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  4. Great American Stations. Accessed March 18, 2013.
  5. Caldwell, Carla (April 14, 2011). "Historic Atl. Amtrak Station Could Close". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved April 14, 2011.
  6. Blau, Max (October 17, 2014). "Goodbye proposed Amtrak and Greyhound transit hub near Atlantic Station? Hello Fuqua's new development". Creative Loafing. Archived from the original on October 20, 2014. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
  7. Tobin, Rachel (October 31, 2011). "'Gulch' Transit Hub Plans Shift Out of Idle". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
  8. Sams, Douglas; Saporta, Maria (July 31, 2015). "Amtrak in talks for new station at GM plant site". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved November 22, 2021.

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