Boca Express Train Museum
Boca Raton Florida East Coast Railway Station | |
Location | 747 South Dixie Highway Boca Raton, Florida United States |
---|---|
Coordinates | 26°20′33.92″N 80°5′20.38″W / 26.3427556°N 80.0889944°WCoordinates: 26°20′33.92″N 80°5′20.38″W / 26.3427556°N 80.0889944°W |
Built | 1930 |
Architect | Chester G. Henninger |
Architectural style | Mediterranean Revival |
NRHP reference No. | 80000959[1] |
Added to NRHP | 24 October 1980 |
The Boca Express Train Museum, operated by the Boca Raton Historical Society, is housed in a restored 1930 Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) train station in Boca Raton, Florida. designed by , built for Clarence H. Geist. It is located at 747 South Dixie Highway, off U.S. 1 (Federal Highway). On October 24, 1980, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Use as a passenger train station[]
Historically, the station served several long-distance trains and one or two local trains. Into the early 1960s, passengers could take one of two Chicago-bound trains (on alternating days), the City of Miami or the South Wind (both via Birmingham) and the New York City-bound East Coast Champion, Havana Special, and Miamian from the FEC's station.[2] Into the latter 1950s, passengers could take the Dixie Flagler to Chicago via Atlanta from the station.[3] The FEC operated local passenger service between Jacksonville and the Miami area until July 31, 1968.[4]
Service on the line is planned to be restored by Brightline, with a station 3⁄4 mile (1.2 km) north of the museum, scheduled to open in 2021.[5] However, Brightline shut down operations during the 2020–2021 Covid pandemic.
Exhibits[]
The Museum contains two restored and unique 1947 Seaboard Air Line streamlined rail cars, a dining and a lounge car, built by the Budd Company and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Boca Express Train Museum also includes a 1946 Atlantic Coast Line caboose and a 1930 Baldwin steam switch engine.[6]
For sale[]
The Boca Raton Historical Society put the Train Museum up for sale in 2017, saying that maintaining two historic buildings (the other is the Society's home, Boca Raton's first city hall) is draining the nonprofit's resources.[7]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
- ^ "Florida East Coast Railway, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. National Railway Publication Company. 94 (8). January 1962.
- ^ Herr, Kincaid A. University Press of Kentucky, 1964, p. 273.
- ^ Bramson, Seth H. Speedway to Sunshine: the story of the Florida East Coast Railway, Boston Mills Press, 2010, p. 153. ISBN 9781554077533.
- ^ Baitinger, Brooke (11 December 2019). "Brightline station coming to Boca Raton by 2021". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Archived from the original on 1 January 2020. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "Archived copy". bocahistory.org. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Shatzman, Marci (26 April 2017). "Bid deadline set for Boca's historic train depot". West Boca Forum. Sun-Sentinel. p. 3.
- Palm Beach County listings at National Register of Historic Places
- Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs
External links[]
- Media related to Florida East Coast Railway Passenger Station at Wikimedia Commons
- Boca Express Train Museum - Boca Raton Historical Society
- Former Florida East Coast Railway stations
- Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida
- Buildings and structures in Boca Raton, Florida
- National Register of Historic Places in Palm Beach County, Florida
- Museums in Palm Beach County, Florida
- Railroad museums in Florida
- Transportation buildings and structures in Palm Beach County, Florida
- Florida East Coast Railway
- Preserved steam locomotives of the United States
- 1930 establishments in Florida
- Seaboard Air Line Railroad
- Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
- Budd Company
- Railway stations in the United States opened in 1930
- Palm Beach County, Florida Registered Historic Place stubs
- Florida railway station stubs