Santa Fe Freight Terminal
|
Santa Fe Terminal Buildings No. 1 and No. 2
|
|
Historic view of Santa Fe Terminal Building No. 1
|
|
 
|
|
| Location | 1114 Commerce Street and 1118 Jackson Street Dallas, Texas |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°46′42.58″N 96°48′4.72″W / 32.7784944°N 96.8013111°WCoordinates: 32°46′42.58″N 96°48′4.72″W / 32.7784944°N 96.8013111°W |
| Area | 1.8 acres (0.73 ha) |
| Built | 1925 |
| Architect | Lloyd R. Whitson |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival |
| NRHP reference # | 97000478 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | May 23, 1997 |
| Designated DLMK | September 28, 1987 |
The Santa Fe Terminal Complex is an 18-acre (73,000 m2) complex of historic buildings in the Government District of downtown Dallas, Texas (USA). Constructed in 1924 as the headquarters for the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway and the Southwest’s largest merchandising center, three of the original four buildings remain today and have been renovated into various uses. Santa Fe Buildings No. 1 and No. 2 were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1997, and the buildings are Dallas Landmarks. The Santa Fe Freight Terminal is regarded as one of the chief factors in the development of Dallas commercially.
The site chosen for the terminal complex was already owned by the railroad and served by tracks connecting with the East Dallas GC&SF yard. The original Santa Fe station in Dallas was built on the site in 1884 and replaced by the 1896 Richardsonian Romanesque passenger station. The latter was one of six depots belonging to different railroads which became redundant with the completion of Union Station in 1916. The depot was razed and a vast, 100,000 cubic yard excavation done with the equivalent of a box car load of dynamite.
Project architect Lloyd R. Whitson, working with engineers and railroad planners from the AT&SF, planned the complex so that four buildings, in a line running north to south from Commerce to Young Streets, could be served by up to three sets of underground railroad tracks branching from a central subsurface line, which emerged from the underground farther south near the present Dallas Convention Center.
The complex was constructed in 1924-25 as one of the more ambitious Texas building projects of the 1920s and one of the Southwest’s largest merchandising centers. All four buildings were linked by a subterranean rail tunnel served by small steam locomotives. Construction of the buildings and the 750-foot-long (230 m) underground freight house was a massive undertaking and work continued around the clock.
...
Wikipedia