Birmingham Terminal Station

Birmingham's Terminal Station was completed in 1909 after two years of construction costing $2 million. It filled two blocks of 26th Street North (now Carraway Boulevard) above the 5th Avenue North underpass. Originally the main train stop for out-of-town visitors, as automobile and air travel came in to prominence the building was neglected. It was finally torn down in 1969.

History

In the early 20th century, Birmingham was served by seven railroads. Six of these joined together to form the Birmingham Terminal Company. The company hired Atlanta architect P. Thornton Marye to design the station. The station's Byzantine style created some controversy.

In 1926 a giant electric sign was erected outside the station at the west end of the underpass. Originally reading "Welcome to Birmingham, the Magic City," it was later shortened to just "Birmingham, the Magic City."

During the Depression, the station fell into disrepair, but in the late 1930s it again became an important transportation hub for the area and continued to be so through World War II. In 1943 the station got a $500,000 renovation which included sandblasting, new paint, and new interior fixtures. During this period of rebirth, rail traffic peaked at 54 trains per day. Rail continued as the primary form of long-distance transportation in America through the early 1950s.

As automobile ownership increased and air travel gained popularity, rail travel suffered. By 1960 only 26 trains per day went through Terminal Station. At the beginning of 1969 it was down to seven trains.

It was then that the U.S. Social Security Administration announced plans to build a consolidated service center in downtown Birmingham. William Engel of Engel Realty approached Southern Railroad, then the sole owner of the station, with plans for a $10 million project on the land occupied by Terminal Station. The plans called for station to be torn down and a new, smaller station to be built along with the Social Security building, two additional office buildings, and a large motel. These plans were generally unknown to the public until shortly before Engel sought permission to demolish the station.

On June 30, 1969, the Alabama Public Service Commission approved demolition of the station. Only a few people went to the hearing trying to preserve it. The Public Service Commission stated that it only had authority to consider the necessity and convenience of the traveling public, which the station clearly no longer served. Less than five months after approval, the station's land was cleared.

The Social Security Administration building was ultimately built elsewhere, but the now cleared land solved another problem the city had had. The original plans for the Red Mountain Expressway involved the destruction of 100 to 150 of the Central City projects (now known as Metropolitan Gardens). With the Terminal Station gone, the expressway could be routed slightly to the east, avoiding the projects.

Architecture

The exterior of the building was primarily brick. Two 130-foot towers topped the north and south wings. The central waiting room covered 7,600 square feet and was covered by a central dome 64 feet in diameter covered in intricate tilework and featuring a skylight of ornamental glass. The bottom 16 feet of the walls of this main waiting room were finished in gray Tennessee marble.

Connecting to the main waiting room were the ticket office, a separate ladies' waiting room, a smoking room, a barber shop, a news stand, a refreshment stand, and telephone and telegraph booths. Along the north and south concourses were the kitchen, lunch and dining rooms, another smoking room, restrooms, and the "colored" waiting room. The north wing housed two express freight companies while the south was used for baggage and mail transfer.

Outside of the station were ten tracks. A series of overlapping "umbrella" sheds covered the platforms and tracks. These sheds provided protection from the rain while still letting in sunlight and fresh air.

Legacy

Because of the Terminal Station's destruction, it is now often used as a rallying cry for local preservation groups. Whenever an historic Birmingham structure is threatened, those involved in trying to preserve it often point to the Terminal Station as an example of what Birmingham has lost in the past.

References

• Kelly, Mark (May 28-June 10, 1998). Terminated Station: The Rise and Fall of Birmingham's Terminal Station. Black & White, pp. 14-17.