Terminal Station (Macon, Georgia)

Terminal Station, Macon, Georgia, is a railroad station that was built in 1916,[1] and is located on 5th St. at the end of Cherry St. It was designed by architect Alfred T. Fellheimer (1875–1959), prominent for his design of Grand Central Terminal in New York City in 1903. The station building is part of the Macon Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Terminal Station
Postcard view of Terminal Station circa 1930
LocationMacon, Georgia
United States
Owned byMacon Bibb County Transit Authority
History
Opened1916
Closed1971

Early history

Col. Robert L. Berner, a prominent Macon attorney and former state legislator, filed a petition on September 28, 1912, with the Georgia Railroad Commission, asking that the railroads calling at Macon be required to erect an adequate union passenger station in Macon. His efforts culminated in the construction of Terminal Station, which was officially opened in 1916.[3]

The Terminal Station building has a limestone exterior, with the main lobby and waiting areas having floors and walls of pink Tennessee marble.[4]

Terminal Station encompassed 13 acres and was owned by the Macon Terminal Company. By the mid 1920s, the station dispatched an estimated 100 arrivals and departures per day.[1] The station was served by the Georgia Railroad, Central of Georgia Railway, Macon, Dublin and Savannah Railroad, and Southern Railway.[5]

The last trains running from there were the Royal Palm (1970) and the Nancy Hanks (1971). The final run of the Nancy Hanks on April 30, 1971 ended 125 years of intercity rail service in Macon.

Brosnan Yard

Occupying the former Central of Georgia shop complex in Macon is the Southern Railway's, now Norfolk Southern's Brosnan Yard. Recently, it was announced that Brosnan Yard was to close, marking an end to the over 140 years of trains on the former shop site.

Notable Trains
  • Central of Georgia and Louisiana & Nashville:
    • Flamingo: Cincinnati - Knoxville - Atlanta - Jacksonville
    • Southland: Chicago - Cincinnati - Knoxville - Atlanta - St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Miami
  • Southern:
    • Florida Sunbeam: Chicago, Detroit & Cleveland - Miami
    • Ponce de Leon: Cincinnati - Atlanta - Jacksonville
    • Royal Palm: Cincinnati - Atlanta - Jacksonville

Recent history

After almost sixty years of service, Terminal Station closed in 1971, and the building remained unused. In 1982, it was purchased by Georgia Power Company and utilized as offices until the 1990s. The City of Macon, Georgia, purchased historic Terminal Station in 2002.[4] it has since been restored, and is now often used as a venue for wedding and other occasions.

References
  1. "Macon Terminal Station". Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage.
  2. "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Macon Historic District (revised)". National Park Service. June 27, 1995. p. 16. Retrieved December 8, 2015.
  3. Terminal Station Opens, April 6, 1917, The Macon Telegraph, Macon, Georgia
  4. Pluta, John (April 25, 2013). "Macon Georgia Terminal Station". Railroadstrains blog.
  5. Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. June 1941.
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