Click image to enlarge. While Huntsville's 1861 Memphis & Charleston passenger depot--one of the oldest surviving railroad passenger facilities in the nation--is now a popular museum, the even earlier (1857) freight depot, less than a hundred yards down the track, currently stands abandoned, its windows and roof partially removed. Constructed in an age when America's expanding railroad network was at the cutting edge of transportation, the depot was infused with a certain style and flare. Clearly, the proud and image-conscious Memphis & Charleston Company--a transportation leader of the antebellum South--intended the building to be not merely functional but a civic ornament as well. Thus the builders imparted a lightly ltalianate character to the structure through broad, over-hanging eaves, delicately arched doorways, and decorative brick work.
As one of the Confederacy's principal transportation arteries, the M & C became a major target of the Union war effort in the West. Literally dozens of stations and warehouses along the length of the line were destroyed between 1862 and 1865. But in Union-occupied Huntsville, the railroad facilities--with the exception of the roundhouse--escaped largely unscathed. After Appomattox, the freight depot and its architectural companion, the nearby passenger station, resumed their complementary roles at the hub of a transportation nerve center that served much of north Alabama--a role that continued well into the twentieth century.
Some time ago, the Historic Huntsville Foundation (HHF) began negotiations with the Norfolk Southern Corporation, owners of the old M & C freight warehouse, to develop a preservation plan for the building. In order to slow deterioration as talks proceeded, HHF temporarily patched a leaky roof. But negotiations sagged and, meanwhile, the building fell into disuse. When several code violations became apparent late last year, Norfolk Southern decided to raze the depot. In fact, dismantling was already underway by the time demolition was halted at the request of HHF. Local preservationists have put together a creative preservation strategy since then, but progress is still touch-and-go. The fate of this major monument to early Alabama railroading remains uncertain as Mother Nature continues to take her toll on a landmark in limbo.
Some time ago, the Historic Huntsville Foundation (HHF) began negotiations with the Norfolk Southern Corporation, owners of the old M & C freight warehouse, to develop a preservation plan for the building. In order to slow deterioration as talks proceeded, HHF temporarily patched a leaky roof. But negotiations sagged and, meanwhile, the building fell into disuse. When several code violations became apparent late last year, Norfolk Southern decided to raze the depot. In fact, dismantling was already underway by the time demolition was halted at the request of HHF. Local preservationists have put together a creative preservation strategy since then, but progress is still touch-and-go. The fate of this major monument to early Alabama railroading remains uncertain as Mother Nature continues to take her toll on a landmark in limbo.
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