Atlanta and West Point Railroad Freight Depot, Atlanta Georgia

Date added: May 24, 2025

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This railroad depot, built c. 1871, is the oldest extant and intact railroad structure associated with the historic center of Atlanta. All other early railroad terminals and buildings that were associated with old downtown Atlanta have either been demolished or substantially altered.

The City of Atlanta began as the terminus point for a railroad line that was planned and engineered to run south from Chattanooga to a point southeast of the Chatahoochee River from which branch roads could be extended into established Georgia towns. The State of Georgia began construction on the line, called the Western and Atlantic, in 1838, followed by construction of connecting lines by the Georgia Railroad from the east and the Monroe Railroad from the south. In 1843 the small settlement known as Terminus, which had grown up to support the railroad construction, was chartered as the village of Marthasville. This village became Atlanta by act of the legislature in December, 1845, and was chartered as a city two years later on December 29^th, 1847. During that same month the Atlanta and West Point Railroad was chartered as the Atlanta and La Grange Company. This fourth railroad into the small city began operation in 1851 as the Atlanta and La Grange Railroad, was completed to West Point, Georgia in 1854 and became the Atlanta and West Point Railroad Company in 1857. Since railroads were natural wartime targets, Atlanta's railroad tracks and buildings were destroyed during the Civil War. Reconstruction of the physical setting of Atlanta after its almost total destruction by Union troops in November of 1864 was rapid. By 1866 all four railroad lines were again in operation, and by the early 1870s several new depots had been constructed. The Atlanta and West Point Freight Depot was one of the earliest.

The history of the property on which the Atlanta and West Point Depot was built about 1871 dates to the transfer of land from one Stephen T. Biggers in June, 1852 to the Atlanta and La Grange Railroad. By 1871 the two-story office portion of the present structure occupied the tract together with a frame warehouse.

Between 1386 and 1891 a brick warehouse portion replaced the frame structure, and with the exception of the later addition of the loft in this portion, the combination office-warehouse structure stands intact.

The architecture of the depot is significant not only because of its relatively early date for post-Civil War Atlanta, but also for its style and construction. The building is Italianate in design and is one of a very few distinguished buildings of this style still remaining in the greater Atlanta area. The most notable features of this classical design are the use of red sandstone quoins to delineate the form of the building and the cast iron triangular pediments capping the symmetrically placed windows. These cast iron pediments, supported on cast iron consoles, are unique among standing Atlanta buildings.

The location of the depot is slightly to the east of the State Capitol complex and the developed portion of Atlanta's central business district has apparently protected this building from demolition.

Because of the fact that Atlanta's history is so closely linked to that of the railroads, early railroad buildings are of great importance to maintaining visible contact with the origins of the City. The Atlanta and West Point Freight Depot's site not only provides high visibility for this small, architecturally distinct structure within the City's transportation network, but it also marks the edge of an area once filled with the tracks and buildings of a busy railroad center.

Building Description

The Atlanta West Point Freight Depot is an Italianate office/depot c. 1871 and attached warehouse dating 1886-1891.

The office portion is a two-story brick load-bearing wall building three bays wide and one deep, with a projecting central pavilion on the main (west) facade that faces downtown Atlanta. The central pavilion, under a triangular gable, is the focal point of the building. Smooth, bevel-cut red sandstone quoins delineate the central pavilion and the exterior corners of the building.

The office block is raised on a base or plinth equal to the height of the loading docks of the warehouse area. This base belt course is delineated by cut granite stone approximately eight inches high, which interrupts the masonry work around all sides of the office block. The corner and central pavilion quoins originate from this belt course, giving the building the appearance of sitting atop this plinth or base.

The main entrance of the office structure is located in the projecting central pavilion under a bevel-cut rusticated sandstone quoin and semi-circular arched opening of radiating voussoirs with keystone. This rusticated arch is in keeping with the strong corner quoins. The overall effect of the entrance and corner quoins is to give the building a sense of weight and stability.

The original entrance stair and porch has been removed and replaced with a cast concrete stair. An additional entrance stair and porch has been added to the northern side of the building.

The wooden paired sash windows (2/2) are recessed into the brick wall and capped by triangular cast iron pediments supported on decorated cast iron corbels. These triangular cast iron pediments are employed on first and second-story windows on the main (west), the north, and south facades of the office building. Cut sandstone window sills matching the color of the quoins are employed on all windows.

Cast iron attic vents in a filigree star pattern set in circular sandstone surrounds are centered in the four gable ends. These sandstone surrounds are accented with four keystones placed on the quadrants of the circle.

The main office block is covered with a shallow pitched roof.

At some point in the early history of the office block (perhaps with the addition of the brick warehouse to the rear in 1886-91) the roof was raised several feet over an additional masonry

wall. The attic space of this building was not used and has no access. Since the roof raising did not effect the interior space of the second-floor rooms, the reason for this change remains unknown. This alteration in roof height apparently had no effect on the original roof shape. Evidence of the roof raising is seen in the change in brickwork and color under the roof eaves and gables. It is also evident in the termination of the sandstone corner quoins several feet below the present eave line. In raising the roof, a concerted effort was made to design the brickwork pattern following the shape of the gables to provide a decorative banding effect to this cornice area. The color variation in the newer brick contributes to this alteration.

Evidence of shadow marks on the underside of the raking gables indicates that brackets or modillions were once applied decoration in the cornice area, but no physical remains exist. These shadow marks most likely date from the removal of the cornice decoration at the time the roof was raised.

Two central chimneys rise out of the roof at the ridge line and mark the division of the interior space into two rooms down and two up separated by a two-story open central stair hall.

The original wooden door and window surrounds remain on the interior along with the "U" shape stair, balusters, and landings. The interior surfacing of the rooms was lath and plaster but has now been covered with a heavy stucco in some locations.

The brick warehouse addition to the Atlanta West Point Freight Depot replaced an earlier wooden frame warehouse which was known to have existed in 1871. The warehouse which stands today is of the period 1886-91. The awkward intersection of the warehouse roof line with the corner quoins provides further physical evidence that the buildings were in fact built at different times.

The warehouse is four bays long and approximately forty-five feet wide. It is covered with a shallow gable roof with wide projecting eaves supported on brackets overhanging the loading docks or platforms.

The loading doorways, which are on both sides of the warehouse, have elliptical arches and are spaced evenly along the long platform wall. These doorways opened out onto the train loading platforms which have been removed. Structural evidence of the original train platforms is, however, still present. The interior floor is of heavy oak timber supported on granite rubble piers. Originally the warehouse had no interior obstruction. It was a full-width clear span with no column intrusion. This was accomplished with the use of heavy timber and steel tie rod trusses which spanned the width of the warehouse, plus extending beyond to support the roof over the loading platforms. These trusses are supported on load-bearing brick walls. At some later time a heavy timber loft was added to the warehouse section. This alteration was surely done after the warehouse was used as a railroad freight depot because the supporting columns for this loft intersect some of the main loading doors. The loft was probably added in 1921 when the property was leased by the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company to Cromer and Thornton, who used the warehouse and office for their concrete and cement business.