Augusta
Augusta's 1903 Union Station, designed by Frank P. Milburn, stood at Barrett Square about five blocks from the riverfront. The Spanish Renaissance styled building served Atlantic Coast Line, Georgia Railroad, Southern Railway, Central of Georgia, Charleston & Western Carolina, and Georgia & Florida.
At the rear of the station was a large train shed as well as Georgia Railroad's freight depot.
Union Station closed in 1968 and was demolished in 1972. A post office now stands on the site. (Walker Street between Eighth Street and James Brown Boulevard.)
A post office stands on the former site of Augusta's Union Station.
(Photo: February 2003).
Milburn's Union Station was not the first union depot in town. Sometime around 1870 the arch-roofed structure shown above was constructed to serve the Georgia Railroad and other rail lines.
The old Southern Railway freight depot stands at Fifth and Reynolds Street (above). Parts of the building date back to the 1850s when the site was used by the South Carolina Railroad (later merged into Southern). The long freight section along Reynolds Street was constructed in the early 1900s. (1917 map shows early configuration.)
In 2006, Georgia DOT provided $450,000 in Transportation Enhancement funds to rehab the building for reuse as a community center. Under current plans, however, the depot will become retail shops as part of the $100 million Watermark condominium-hotel-retail project.
At 560 Walton Way is the former Central of Georgia Railway freight depot (above). Before the Central, it served the Port Royal & Augusta Railway. The building was rehabilitated in 1983 for use as a catering and banquet facility under the name Pullman Hall. Fortunately it has retained its railroad character and still has active tracks along its west side. Unfortunately, in the late 1980s Walton Way was raised above those tracks blocking views of the building's front facade.
On the east side of the Central of Georgia block once stood the machine shops and roundhouse of the Charleston & Western Carolina Railway.
As of this writing, one other "Augusta" depot should be noted. The 1917 Warrenton depot of the Savannah & Atlanta Railway stands beside the Old Richmond Academy at 540 Telfair Street in downtown Augusta, where it once served as a museum exhibit. When the Augusta Museum of History moved to a new building on Reynolds Street a few years ago, the depot was left behind. Community leaders in Warrenton, about 40 miles west of Augusta, are currently working to get the depot moved back.
Among the now-demolished railroad facilities in Augusta were the depot and shops of the narrow-gauge Augusta, Gibson & Sandersville Railroad. These stood at the river between the railroad bridge and the Southern freight depot. In the block bounded by 5th, Fenwick, Washington, and Watkins streets were the freight yards and depot of the Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta Railroad.
In the block between 7th, 8th, Fenwick, and Walker streets were the shops and roundhouse of the Georgia Railroad. The Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center now stands on the site.
Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Copyright, Steve Storey.
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