Texas & Pacific Passenger Terminal

The Texas & Pacific Railroad Passenger Terminal

All photos from iPhone5 edited in Snapseed. (unless noted)

The rail first came through Fort Worth in 1876. This terminal was built in 1931 with what is considered the Zigzag art deco style. The station and office building included a lavish, segregated lobby with brass, glass, plaster, and marble embellishments.

Rail travel began to decline shortly after the terminal opened, and the last passenger train stopped in 1967. 

Over the next three decades the building was under utilized and isolated from downtown by elevated I-30. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, preservationists successfully rallied to save the old T and P Terminal in the 1980s when it was slated for demolition as part of interstate expansion plans.

It was the terminal's architectural significance that led to its revival. In 1999, the lobby was meticulously restored to its original appearance in preparation for its return to use as a depot, this time for the Trinity Railway Express, a commuter rail line in the Dallas and Fort Worth metro area. Shortly thereafter, I-30 was moved, reconnecting the T and P Terminal with downtown. 

Renaissance Development Co. and Wood Partners purchased the building in 2003, and, aided by government tax incentives, the upper floors were redeveloped into 46 residential condominiums and opened in 2006. It is twelve stories tall.

 A grand entrance to what was the passenger terminal, now it's rented out for parties.

Let's go inside...

This just took my breathe away. Partly because it was so big and the ceilings so high.

 Doors leading out to the train. There is always a clock, isn't there?

The ticket counter.
Isn't that ceiling something, and those chandeliers?

The rest of these were shot with my Canon 7D.

The entrance to the Lofts.

The only shot I got inside was of one of the three elevator doors. The girl at the desk wasn't exactly friendly.

The T& P Warehouse 

It was built in the same style. At the moment it is abandoned but there is hope to turn it into apartments. 

Looking from the east.

The south area. I snapped some wonderful grungy photos there.

Coming soon, the Post Office and the Courthouse.

I'll link this up with Helen also.