Main Street Station

When driving through downtown Richmond on Interstate 95, it's hard to miss the brick clock tower that almost touches the elevated roadway. The train station here, Main Street Station, was built from 1900 to 1901 for the Chesapeake and Ohio and the Seaboard Air Line Railways. It was one of several train stations in the city that served various private rail companies. Seaboard moved to a new station in 1959, one year after I-95 was built. Floods and fires closed the Main Street Station at times in the 1970s and 1980s. Rail service (Amtrak) finally returned to the station in 2003. The Main Street Station and Trainshed is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historical Landmark.

Philadelphia architects Wilson, Harris and Richards of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, designed the Main Street station in early French Renaissance style for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad (C&O) and the Seaboard Airline Railroad (Seaboard). The C&O rail lines mainly traveled east-west, and the Seaboard's were north-south; the two lines crossed in Richmond. There were no formal ceremonies held when the new train station opened on Wednesday, November 27th, 1901, near the intersection of Main St. and 16th St. A local newspaper reporter remarked on the new station's "commodious waiting-rooms, handsome marble stairways and magnificent appointments" (furnishings).

The new station was seven bays wide along the front (Main St.) and measured about 102 feet long; the three-bay sides were 63 feet long. The foundation of the four-story building was brick, veneered in rough-cut stone. The walls were brick, veneered with tile resembling Roman brick; decorations were made of stone or terra cotta. The steep roof was covered in red tiles; bronze finials decorated the ridge ends. Two levels of dormers adorned the roof. A six-story clock tower was at the station's southwest corner, with clocks on all four sides, between paired Corinthian columns. The top of the tower was formed by a square dome below an ornate bronze finial. An elaborate brick chimney rose from between the first and second stories near the southeast corner. The ground floor contained a public hall, a drugstore, and a barber shop, with service areas including baggage and mail rooms behind. The first floor, reached from a set of steps facing Main Street (south), featured the main waiting room, a separate waiting room for ladies, ticket booths, and a restaurant. The main staircase, faced in marble, was on the west side of the main waiting room. The upper three floors held railroad offices and the Railroad Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) sleeping quarters/ reading rooms/ baths. The station was entirely lit by electricity; radiators supplied steam heat from a nearby power plant. Two sets of railroad tracks extended along the east and west sides of the station and crossed Main Street on elevated bridges.

In November 1901, the Seaboard Air Line Railway announced the addition of two trains between the Main St. Station and the city of Petersburg, aimed at commuters to jobs in Richmond. The "commutation trains" were scheduled to take only forty minutes to travel between the two cities, including stops. Streetcars of the Richmond Power and Passenger Company or the Richmond Traction Company stopped at the Main St. Station every minute, making for an easy connection into the city.

In 1959, Seaboard moved to a different station, leaving the C&O as the lone owner. Just one year before, Interstate 95 cut through Richmond, with an elevated roadway placed very near the clocktower. Rail service was interrupted for years at Main Street Station due to floods and fires in the 1970s and 1980s. Rail service (Amtrak) finally returned to the station in 2003. The Main Street Station and Trainshed is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historical Landmark. The trainshed has been renovated into an events venue.

Anonymous. "Latest News of the Railroads: Southern Formally Opens Beautiful New Depot To-Day." The Times (Richmond) September 20th, 1900. 6-6.

Anonymous. "Splendid Main Street Station to be Opened Wednesday." The Times (Richmond) November 24th, 1901. 1-1.

Anonymous. "New Station Thrown Open." The Times (Richmond) November 28th, 1901. 1-2.

Main Street Station. Our Story, Main Street Station. January 1st, 2024. Accessed February 22nd, 2024. https://mainstreetstationrichmond.com/our-story/.

Peters, Margaret T. Loth, Calder. HABS documentation of Main Street Station (Union Station), Richmond, Virginia. Volume HABS VA-848. Historic American Buildings Survey. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1969.

Prycer, Donald G. et al. HAER documentation of Union Station Trainshed, Main Street, Richmond, Virginia. Volume HAER VA-4. Historic American Engineering Record. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1970.

Smith, Z. P. "Special Announcement: Additional Train Service." Richmond Times (Richmond) November 27th, 1901. 5-5.

Zembala, Dennis A. DeLony, Eric. NHL nomination of Main Street Station and Trainshed, Richmond, Virginia. National Historic Landmarks. Washington, DC. National Park Service, 1976.