Rail service reached Abilene in 1881, when a railroad car served as the first depot. In 1882, a two-story depot with a passenger waiting room, office space, dining, and a hotel on the second floor was built a few blocks from this site, and it was replaced in 1902 by a one-story wood building. After public efforts for a new station, the Texas & Pacific Railroad announced plans in 1907, began construction in May 1910, and created a rectangular one-story brick and concrete depot with a tile roof. The building combined Mission Revival and Prairie School influences, with a hipped tile roof, gabled dormers, a projecting gable over the North First Street entrance, an octagonal tower, red brick walls above a battered stucco base, a molded cornice, corner quoins, a stringcourse, stucco or cast-stone ornament, and windows that originally had multi-light upper sashes with diamond panes at the top. On March 14, 1911, thousands gathered there to hear former President Theodore Roosevelt speak. In 1936, the Works Progress Administration built elevated track with concrete underpasses and passenger stairs to track level. The open freight bay was enclosed in 1947, and the dormers were removed from the main roof and tower in 1953. The passenger terminal closed in 1984, the depot was donated to the city of Abilene in 1991, and the city and the Dodge Jones Foundation restored it completely before it reopened in 1994.