Abandoned train station in Kentucky

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In 1907, the Chesapeake and Ohio line serving the Big Sandy Valley reached Pikeville. This first access to modern transportation produced an extraordinary growth and development in the city in subsequent years. The new prosperity as well as the new demand for rail transportation are reflected in the passenger depot which was built in 1923 by the C & O Railroad. The passenger depot and adjacent baggage shed were designed by the railroad company. In subsequent years, the depot was a focal point in community life occasionally serving as a site of an early morning wedding for couples leaving on the 6:30 train for Ashland. The depot served the Pikeville community until rail service was terminated. In the early 1980s the tracks were removed when a new route by-passing downtown was completed. The City of Pikeville purchased the building to refurbish for use as City Hall.

Building Description

The Pikeville Passenger Depot is a one-story, seven-bay, brick building in the Classical Revival style. On the same site is a smaller baggage terminal in the same style which was built at the same time as the depot. Both were built parallel to the C & O railroad tracks and were originally connected with a long open canopy which has been removed.

The tall, one-story central portion has a door in the central bay which is sheltered by a pedimented portico supported by paired Ionic columns. On either side of the central bay there are very large windows capped with classical flat arches and stone voussoirs. The corners of the three-bay central block and the two-bay wings on either end are decorated with brick quoins. The brick itself is laid in a Flemish bond pattern on all four sides of the building including the pedimented gable ends. The gables on the depot and the baggage station all feature round traceried windows. A single row of bricks encircle each window.

On the platform side, the depot is also divided into seven bays. Each wing has a door and a window and the main section has a central door. The bay immediately to the right of the main entrance has a bay window. The removal of the canopy and the construction of a new sidewalk and curb closer to the depot than the tracks were historically give this side of the station an altered look.

Approximately 150 feet to the southwest of the depot is the Pikeville baggage terminal. A slightly smaller-scale version of the depot, it was constructed as part of the same project in 1923. It utilizes the same brickwork, corner quoins, and pedimented gable roof as the depot. The roofing material for both buildings is slate. The baggage terminal has four bays on the long side, with windows in the central bays and large doors on either end. Most of the windows are now boarded over and the doors and door frames have been removed from the terminal.

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