Main Street Station, (c.1905)
Main Street Station (2016)
Site Name: Richmond
Main Street Station
Date of Construction: November 27, 1901
Reasons for Construction: Built
to serve as a union station for the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, running north
and south, and the Chesapeake and Railroad, running east and west.
Site History: Main
Street Station was built during a period of population and economic growth in
Richmond and around the country. During this period, the railways in Richmond
were improved and expanded to accommodate for the growth. Main Street Station
was built as a high tech station built to accommodate the bigger engines that trains
were using and the improved tracks that were becoming more widely used. The
station was used mainly by passenger trains. Because of this, the station was
designed to be stunning and beautiful, modeled off of the Beaux Arts style, a
popular architecture style at the time. The station continued to service
passengers until October 1975, when the bottom floors of the station were
destroyed in a flood. In 2003, passenger service to the station resumed once again.
Area History: Shockoe
Bottom was the second largest slave trade in the country until slavery was made
illegal by the thirteenth amendment. The slave large slave trade of
Shockoe Bottom and the access to ports made it a large center of commerce for
Richmond. Even after slavery was abolished, many warehouses still existed in Shockoe
bottom, making it an ideal place for a train station to be built.
What about the site has changed: From the station’s closure in 1975 to 1983, the
building remained vacant and started to fall into disarray. In 1983, the building
was purchased by the SWA corporation and planned to turn it into a shopping
mall. Right before the renovations to convert the building, the roof caught
fire was replaced with a replica roof modeled after the original. The mall did
eventually open in 1985, but closed shortly after as it was unsuccessful. The
building, for a short period, housed a nightclub during Shockoe Bottom’s growth
as a cultural hub. In 1991, Richmond City purchased the building to restore it
as a transportation hub instead of building an entire new facility. After a
long period of renovation, the station opened back up as a transportation hub housing many types of transportation instead of just trains.
What about the surrounding area has changed: The Shockoe bottom district began declining in the
1920s, shortly after the station was built. The hub of commerce declined
because it was no longer important after the automobile had become widely used.
The warehouses which allowed the area to thrive slowly moved and were almost
completely gone by the 1950s. In the 1980s and 1990s, Shockoe Bottom rose back
into prominence as a cultural hub. Art galleries began opening up in old
tobacco warehouses. Today, Shockoe Bottom serves as a residential area.
Reflection: I
learned that the building and the area surrounding Main Street Station has
under gone huge changes since its construction. I didn’t know there were so
many plans for the building. It feels strange that such an extravagant building
once housed a shopping mall and at one point even a nightclub. I also learned
that the station is still running today, which came as a surprise.
Sources:
United
States. National Park Service. "--Richmond: A Discover Our Shared Heritage
Travel Itinerary." National Parks Service. Accessed February 18, 2016. http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/richmond/BroadStreetStation.html.
"RICHMOND RAIL
HISTORY." Richmond Railroad Museum. Accessed March 15, 2016. http://richmondrailroadmuseum.org/railroad_history.htm
"History, Travel,
Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." History, Travel, Arts,
Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. Accessed March 15, 2016. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/digging-up-the-past-at-a-richmond-jail-50642859/.
Author: Matthew Lyons
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