Southern Railway Terminal Station - Bessemer, AL - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Alabama Great Southern Railroad Company completed construction of the Bessemer passenger terminal in March, 1916. According to records, railroad personnel constructed the depot thereby saving the costs of architects. Total cost of the building was $30,000. The structure located at 1905 Alabama Avenue is 170 feet long and 50 feet wide with exterior walls of pressed brown brick. The roof plan is stacked in three levels which gives the building's roof an interesting appearance. The heavy terra cotta tile covering the roof is lighter in tone than the walls. Further details of the building include walls of plaster/ a wainscoting of terrazzo which is created by setting chips of marble randomly in cement and then polishing; woodwork of hand-finished heart of pine and walnut; and windows near the ceiling made of glue glass -- a process of putting glue on the pane of glass and then drying the glue to create a design.

The ticket office was located in the center of the building and today contains the original cabinets and desk. Since this building was constructed during a time of racial segregation, there was a waiting room on the left for colored passengers and a separate waiting room for white ladies. Each waiting room had its own restroom; a grand total of eleven toilets served the structure.

The railroad depot has changed little since its completion on 1916. The depot was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in West Jefferson County in 1973. In 1985 the depot was renovated and now houses the Bessemer Hall of History Museum.

The Bessemer Hall of History is open Tuesday – Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Street address: 1905 Alabama Avenue Bessemer, AL USA 35020 County / Borough / Parish: Jefferson Year listed: 1973 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Transportation Current function: Recreation and Culture Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   05/01/2012 xptwo visited it