Naples Seaboard Air Line Railway Station
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Naples Seaboard Air Line Railway Station | |
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| Location | Naples, Florida |
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| Coordinates | 26°08′34″N 81°47′35″W / 26.1428°N 81.7930°WCoordinates: 26°08′34″N 81°47′35″W / 26.1428°N 81.7930°W |
| Area | 7 acres (2.8 ha) |
| Built | 1926 |
| Architect | L. Philips Clarke |
| NRHP Reference # | 74000613[1] |
| Added to NRHP | September 10, 1974 |
The Naples Seaboard Air Line Railway Station (also known as the Naples Railroad Depot or Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Depot) is a historic Seaboard Air Line Railway depot in Naples, Florida. It is located at 1051 5th Avenue, South.
History
The depot was constructed in 1927 when the Seaboard Air Line constructed its All Florida Railway to Naples. It was designed in the same Mediterranean Revival style the Seaboard Air Line used with its stations in Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hialeah, and Homestead on the southeast coast of Florida (which were built around the same time), and is virtually identical to the Hialeah depot. The station only briefly saw Seaboard Air Line passenger service in the late 1920s before the railroad reduced its Arcadia to Naples Branch to freight service only. Seaboard ended freight service in the 1930s. During World War II, the depot was home to USO shows for troops stationed at the nearby Naples airfield.
By 1944, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad bought both the depot and the Seaboard tracks to Naples and resumed service, making it one of the few railroad depots to have been operated by both the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line independently prior to their merger. The Atlantic Coast Line's previous depot in Naples was located at the northeast corner of Radio Road and Airport-Pulling Road near Naples Municipal Airport, which was then abandoned.[2]
The Seaboard brand returned to the depot in 1967 when the Seaboard Air Line merged with the Atlantic Coast Line which became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Passenger service ended in 1971 when national passenger rail was taken over by Amtrak. On September 10, 1974, the depot was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Freight service was halted for good in the early 1980s, and the adjacent tracks were removed shortly afterward.
Naples Depot Museum
The station has since been fully restored by the Collier County Museums, and is now operated as the Naples Depot Museum. Exhibits focus on the history of transportation and trade in Southwest Florida. Displays include railroads, Seminole dugout canoes, a mule wagon and an antique swamp buggy. Vintage railcars are also on display outside of the building. In another part of the building is a Lionel Train Museum which is dedicated to model trains. A miniature railway also runs around the perimeter of the property.[3]
References
- ↑ Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
- ↑ Turner, Gregg (January 4, 2000). Railroad History of Southwest Florida. Images of America. Arcadia Publishing.
- ↑ Bendfeldt-Diaz, Paula. "Naples Depot Museum: Fun for Train Lovers Young and Old". 365 Things to do in Southwest Florida. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- Collier County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Depot. |
