Danville (Amtrak station)
Encyclopedia
The Danville, Virginia
, Amtrak
station was built in 1899 from plans drawn by the noted Southern Railway (US)
architect, Frank Pierce Milburn
. In 1915, a track expansion required that the track be moved 133 feet to the northeast. The station was jacked up on rollers, and crews used mules and stump pullers to roll the building. It is said that the move was done so skillfully that not a single brick was cracked.
In 1922, the building was almost destroyed by fire during a raging snowstorm. Southern Railway rebuilt the building to its original specifications, minus the spire that had formerly graced its roofline.
With the demise of public rail transit, the building fell into disuse, and for years, Amtrak passengers had to walk through an underground tunnel and wait on a platform between the tracks. In 1993 it was closed to passenger service temporarily and bought by the City of Danville. In 1995, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
. The same year, a group of local civic leaders sought federal ISTEA funding and local contributions to renovate the station. It is now part of the campus of the Danville Science Center, the first satellite facility of the Science Museum of Virginia.
Danville, Virginia
Danville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for...
, Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
station was built in 1899 from plans drawn by the noted Southern Railway (US)
Southern Railway (US)
The Southern Railway is a former United States railroad. It was the product of nearly 150 predecessor lines that were combined, reorganized and recombined beginning in the 1830s, formally becoming the Southern Railway in 1894...
architect, Frank Pierce Milburn
Frank Pierce Milburn
Frank Pierce Milburn was a prolific architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. While Milburn designed commercial buildings and residences, his practice was primarily focused on public buildings, particularly courthouses and legislative buildings...
. In 1915, a track expansion required that the track be moved 133 feet to the northeast. The station was jacked up on rollers, and crews used mules and stump pullers to roll the building. It is said that the move was done so skillfully that not a single brick was cracked.
In 1922, the building was almost destroyed by fire during a raging snowstorm. Southern Railway rebuilt the building to its original specifications, minus the spire that had formerly graced its roofline.
With the demise of public rail transit, the building fell into disuse, and for years, Amtrak passengers had to walk through an underground tunnel and wait on a platform between the tracks. In 1993 it was closed to passenger service temporarily and bought by the City of Danville. In 1995, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. The same year, a group of local civic leaders sought federal ISTEA funding and local contributions to renovate the station. It is now part of the campus of the Danville Science Center, the first satellite facility of the Science Museum of Virginia.