History of Tampa Union Station

Tampa Union Station, located at 601 North Nebraska Avenue, lies at the eastern edge of Downtown Tampa and stands as the gateway to Ybor City.

Designed by architect J.F. Leitner of Wilmington, North Carolina (who later became a Tampa resident himself), this Italian Renaissance Revival style building was opened on May 15, 1912, by the Tampa Union Station Company. Its original purpose was to combine passenger operations for the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, and the Tampa Northern Railroad at a single site.

Tampa Union Station served railroad passengers through the Great Depression, both World Wars, and into the Amtrak era. Along the way—in 1974—it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Throughout the 1950s, Federal investments in highways and air travel began to undermine Tampa Union Station’s future. Passenger train ridership began to decline heavily during the ‘50s, a trend which continued throughout the next two decades. As passenger train ridership fell over the years, Tampa Union Station began to suffer from deferred maintenance.

By the 1980s, the roof of the old depot leaked with every rain, plaster fell from the ceiling on a regular basis, and paint peeled throughout the proud terminal—neglect in part brought about by the shifting loyalties of the traveling public. DC-9s and interstate highways were now the modes of transport favored by the majority of those coming and going to and from Tampa.

Tampa Union Station closed to the public in 1984. For the next 14 years, Amtrak passengers arriving and departing from Tampa had to use a temporary “make do” ticket office and waiting room in a prefabricated building located adjacent to the station platforms.

Not long after, thanks to local historic preservationists and passenger rail advocates, Tampa Union Station began its long path back to restoration. In 1988, the nonprofit Tampa Union Station Preservation & Redevelopment Inc. (TUSP&R) was founded with the goal of raising grant money for restoring Union Station. Also that same year, Tampa Union Station helped to foster a citywide conversation about preserving the past by becoming one of the first buildings to be designated a Tampa Landmark under the City of Tampa’s new historic preservation ordinance.

In 1991, TUSP&R acquired Tampa Union Station via a mortgage held by CSX, the freight railroad company which was the corporate descendant of its original railroad owners. What’s more, TUSP&R was successful in its efforts to raise funds for the restoration of the station.

TUSP&R—led largely by volunteers—raised over 4 million USD for the building’s restoration through grants and loans. Funding sources included the Florida Department of Transportation (ISTEA funds), the City of Tampa (grant funds) and the National Trust for Historic Preservation (no interest loan).

Restoration of Tampa Union Station was a multi-year effort, with Rowe Architects serving as historic preservation architect for the project. Restoration was completed in May 1998.

At the completion of the restoration, the station reopened to Amtrak passengers and the public. CSX donated the station to the City of Tampa that same year.

More modest restoration work has continued at the station since then, with the completion of the rehabilitation of Union Station’s baggage building by the City of Tampa in 2002. Thanks to a federal transportation grant, in 2011 Amtrak renovated one of the station platforms, as well.

In 2008, the nonprofit Friends of Tampa Union Station was founded. This all-volunteer group that same year established a permanent endowment fund for the care and upkeep of Tampa Union Station at the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay. Income from the endowment assists with maintenance and ongoing restoration at Union Station.

In recent years, Tampa Union Station has also been discovered by Tampa’s arts and cultural community. Art exhibits have been hosted in the baggage building at the station from time to time and Tampa Union Station will anchor one end of a planned rehabilitation of Zack Street into an “promenade of the arts”.

In 2009, the City of Tampa’s Official Poet Laureate, James E. Tokley, Sr., authored a poem about the history of Union Station entitled “The Epic of Tampa Union Station.” This poem is available on the City of Tampa’s website.

In 2012, Tampa Union Station’s Centennial year, the station was added to the National Register of Historic Railroad Landmarks by the National Railway Historical Society.

A Portion of all proceeds from rental fees and catering go to Friends of Tampa Union Station and The City of Tampa to be designated for the upkeep and preservation of this historic landmark.

For more information visit http://www.tampaunionstation.com/