Tampa Union Station

By 1902, the Seaboard Air Line and the Atlantic Coast Line had become Tampa's principal railroads, with the Atlantic Coast Line taking over the rail system of Henry B. Plant. Built in 1912, Tampa Union Station was designed by architect J.F. Leitner in the Italian Renaissance style to serve both railroads, which contributed $250,000 for its construction under the management of the Tampa Union Station Company. During the Depression, passenger railroad earnings in America fell by half, and although revenues rose during World War II, the costs of overworking rolling stock for wartime needs offset those gains. In response, the railroads reinvested in sleeker, more modern equipment, creating the Streamliner Era, when notable trains serving the station included the Atlantic Coast Line's West Coast Champion, South Wind, the Southland, and the Seaboard Air Line's Silver Meteor, Silver Star, and Sunland. In 1971, Amtrak began operating the nation's passenger rail services and continues to run trains from Tampa Union Station. In 1991, the non-profit Tampa Union Station Preservation & Redevelopment, Inc., purchased the 1.97-acre terminal and baggage building and renovated it in 1998, after which ownership was transferred to the city of Tampa in 1999. The station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Tampa, Florida · United States