Plant City Union Depot | |
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   | |
| Location | E. North Drane St., Plant City, Florida |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 28°0′56″N 82°7′19″W / 28.01556°N 82.12194°W |
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1908–1909 |
| Architect | J.F. Leitner |
| Architectural style | French Style |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000558[1] |
| Added to NRHP | April 14, 1975 |
The Plant City Union Depot is a historic train depot in Plant City, Florida, Florida, United States. It was built in 1909 and was crucial in the development of Plant City. The city was named after Henry Plant, who introduced railway lines to improve the transport system in Central and Western Florida.[2] The architectural design is credited to J.F. Leitner.
It is located 102 N. Palmer street near Northeast Drane Street, and was built by the Plant Railroad System and the Florida Navigation and Rail Co., which later became the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL).[3] These two lines became more commonly known as the “A Line” and “S Line” after the two railroads merged, which happened when the depot was still operational.[4] The ACL tracks ran east and west. The SAL tracks ran north and south and contained a Railway Express Agency loading dock. The southbound station served ACL trains bound for Tampa and Sarasota and the other station served SAL trains bound for Sarasota, Boca Grande, Naples and Miami.
Plant City Union Depot continued to operate until 1971.[5] It was about to get torn down by the city in 1974, but was saved Plant City Arts Council.[6] On April 14, 1975, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S Department of Interior.
Plant City Union Depot was converted into and renamed as the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum in September 2013 and is open to the public.[7] It is named after Robert W. Willaford in honor of his contributions to this conversion project and his dedication towards trains.[8]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ Gallagher, Lisa; Deem, Jack; Bourne, Bea; Schubert, Carol. "Henry Flagler and Henry Plant: Entrepreneurship That Led to the Development of Florida". ProQuest 2158145208.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Sheffield, Glenn. "Plant City Union Depot".
- ^ Sheffield, Glenn. "Plant City Union Depot".
- ^ Redding, Terry. "Plant City's once-bustling Union Depot slowly being pumped with life again".
- ^ Redding, Terry. "Plant City's once-bustling Union Depot slowly being pumped with life again".
- ^ Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum Society. "Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum".
- ^ Jurgensen, Amber. "First Railfest chugs into Plant City".