Beautiful City, Bad History... Crowne Plaza need to do their homework. Indy does NOT have the nations FIRST UNION DEPOT. Not by a long shot. The station there was started in 1888, and opened shortly aftward. This is not to say it isn't beautiful, it certainly is.
Jacksonville, on the other had had a UNION STATION open and running in 1883! The improvements Flagler made created the older section of the Prime Osbourne, and was known as the Flagler Depot... Though it WAS Jacksonville Union Station and it dates from 1895. Our current giant station, dates from 1919 with parts of it going back to the earliest Union Station. So is our's older? NO. Give that to Indy.
So who is older? Depends on who you ask. But the early railroads were in Baltimore, Washington, New Jersey, South Carolina, Georgia, and FLORIDA... Sorry Jax. but Fernandina beats us out, and Tocoi, South of town beats Fernandina. They had a railroad up and running from Tocoi to St. Augustine in the 1830's. Baltimore's President Street Station dates from the 1830's and IT WAS a Union Station. Currently threatened, groups are working to save it and restore the area.
Classic BIG STATION Union Depots? Well, Savannah has the old "Georgia Railroad Station" which serves as the historical museum, and once served a hand full of small lines entering Savannah. It was built in 1860, and would probably be gone today, but the story goes that Sherman got caught in a tropical downpour and his matches got wet. If you go to Savannah, it is WELL WORTH THE EFFORT to see this classic station and the old train shed... If you don't know what that is go to Savannah and look. We once had one too, a huge old train shed that a tropical storm scattered all over La Villa.
Indy, also was the CENTER of some of the most extensive electric interurban railroads in the world, it also had a Union Terminal for Interurbans. They stretched to Cleveland, Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Louisville... EVERYWHERE. Wonder what they did with THAT history?
When the first rails from Jacksonville reached St. Augustine in the 1800's the little Tocoi line shared it's depot. Later the City had a classic and beautiful Union Depot, next to the old FEC HQ buildings, but tore it down in the 1950's. Savannah, also had a TEMPLE called UNION STATION which in infinate wisdom was torn down for exit ramps off I-16 in 1960. Shades of the Jacksonville Traction Car Barns that jumped in the way of the New Acosta Bridge, then once destroyed they discovered..."oops, they wern't in the way at all..." Seems the Worlds Largest Railway Express Station, was in the way of the JTA yard and HAD to be torn down too.
We don't have the sites Indy enjoys, all we have is the site where the site was... With few exceptions, we could go around the moon-scape and place markers telling what we once had. That gives me an idea! Let's blow a bus freeway through San Marco, Springfield... etc...
Ocklawaha
