Tucson Station
History
The depot was built in 1907 by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP). It was designed by the SP's architect, Daniel J. Patterson, who designed a number of depots during the same era, including the San Antonio Station.
Passenger services
In the mid-20th century, into the latter 1950s, four trains a day departed west and four trains a day went east:
- Departing west toward Los Angeles Union Station via Yuma in the morning:
- Argonaut (bypassed Phoenix to the south) (to ca. 1957)
- Sunset Limited (passed through Phoenix) (continues to operate today)
- Departing west toward Los Angeles Union Station via Phoenix and Yuma in the mid-afternoon and the evening:
- Imperial (to 1958)
- Golden State (to 1968)
- Departing east toward Chicago's LaSalle Street Station via the Golden State Route in the midnight hours:
- Imperial
- Golden State
- Departing east toward New Orleans Union Station via the Sunset Route and Houston in the daylight morning hours:
- Sunset Limited
- Argonaut
Recent decades
In 1998, the City purchased the entire depot property from the Union Pacific Railroad, which had absorbed the SP. Restoration of the main depot building and the three adjacent buildings, to their 1941 modernized Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, was completed in 2004. Spanish Colonial Revival elements include the stuccoed brick walls, red clay roof tiles, and colorful, decorative tilework in the waiting room. The station and other railroad buildings are included as contributing resources to the National Register-listed Tucson Warehouse Historic District.
The Old Pueblo Trolley extended their historic streetcar line to the depot in 2009. Sun Link assumed operation of the line on July 25, 2014. The Southern Arizona Transportation Museum is located in the old Records Vault building.
Proposed expansion
Tucson station is a proposed endpoint for planned train service to Phoenix.
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday statue
The Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday statue near the train depot commemorates the revenge killing of Frank Stilwell. On March 18, 1882, in the aftermath of the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, Morgan Earp was murdered by unknown killers, in Tombstone, Arizona. Two days later, Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, and a few other men were escorting the injured Virgil Earp and his wife to Tucson, with their final destination being California. While at the Tucson train station, Wyatt Earp learned that Frank Stilwell, one of the individuals suspected in the Morgan Earp murder, was lurking in the area. Earp, Holliday, and the others pursued Stilwell along the train tracks, eventually catching and killing him.
References
- ^ "Amtrak Fact Sheet, Fiscal Year 2023: State of Arizona" (PDF). Amtrak. March 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
- ^ "Southern Pacific Lines, Tables 9,10". Official Guide of the Railways. 88 (4). National Railway Publication Company. September 1955.
- ^ "Tucson, AZ (TUS)". Great American Stations.
- ^ "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form – Tucson Warehouse Historic District" (PDF). City of Tucson. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ "Tucson Warehouse Historic District (map)" (PDF). City of Tucson. Retrieved 2023-06-07.
- ^ "At the Depot: Some history of our depot..." Southern Arizona Transportation Museum. Archived from the original on 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2022-06-19.
- ^ Leighton, David (April 20, 2015). "Street Smarts: Few Tucsonans saw Wyatt Earp as hero". Arizona Daily Star.
External links
Media related to Tucson (Amtrak station) at Wikimedia Commons
- Tucson, AZ – Amtrak
- Tucson, AZ – Station history at Great American Stations (Amtrak)
- Tucson Amtrak station information
- Southern Arizona Transportation Museum – at the Depot.
- Arizona Rail Passenger Association: Tucson Depot history
- USA Rail Guide: "Tucson Amtrak Station & El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Depot" – by Train Web.