J. Douglas Galyon Depot

J. Douglas Galyon Depot
J. Douglas Galyon Depot
Amtrak inter-city rail station
Location	236 East Washington Street; Greensboro, North Carolina; United States
Coordinates	36°04′10″N 79°47′14″W / 36.06944°N 79.78722°WCoordinates: 36°04′10″N 79°47′14″W / 36.06944°N 79.78722°W
Owned by	City of Greensboro
Line(s)	Danville District; H-Line;
Platforms	2 island platforms
Tracks	4
Bus stands	22
Bus operators	GTA; PART Express; Greyhound Lines;
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Parking	102 spaces; free
Disabled access	Yes
Architect	Alfred T. Fellheimer
Architectural style	Beaux-Arts
Other information
Station code	GRO
History
Opened	1927, reopened 2005
Closed	1979
Rebuilt	2001–2003
Original company	Southern Railway
Passengers
FY2018	118,176 6.29%
Services
Former services

J. Douglas Galyon Depot,^[1] also known as Greensboro station, is an intermodal transit facility in Greensboro, North Carolina. Located at 236 East Washington Street in downtown Greensboro, it serves Amtrak passenger rail and is the city's main hub for local and intercity buses.

The station was built in 1927. Train service was moved to a new building outside downtown in 1979. The historic station was renovated and reopened as a transit center in 2005.

History[]

The station was originally built in 1927 as the Greensboro Southern Railway Depot. It was a replacement for an 1899 Southern Railway Depot that still exists today, albeit without the gabled-third story and cupola it had in the past. The 1927 depot was donated to the city in 1978, a year before the Southern Railroad finally gave up passenger service.

Efforts to return service to the old station began in 1993. It was heavily renovated from 2001 to 2005, and reopened to the public on October 1, 2005.^[4] The restored station was named for James Douglas "Doug" Galyon (1911-2019), a longtime civic leader in Greensboro who was a member of the North Carolina Board of Transportation from 1992 to 2008, serving for most of that time as the board's chairman.^[5]

Designed by the New York architectural firm of Alfred T. Fellheimer & Steward Wagner, the 1927 Beaux-Arts facade of the Greensboro station features Ionic columns, a full entablature, and a three-story arched entry. Inside, the ticketing area features a vast mural displaying the service area of the Southern Railway system in the 1920s.^[6]

Until 1970 the Southern Railway operated the Asheville Special from Asheville and Winston-Salem to Greensboro. Until the 1960s that train had linked with the Augusta Special at Greensboro and had continued to Washington, D.C. and New York City. Until the 1960s the Carolina Special went from Cincinnati to Asheville, with the North Carolina branch of the train going to Greensboro. Until 1953 or 1954 the Carolina Special went further east to Goldsboro in the eastern part of the state.

Present-day service[]

The station is served by three Amtrak trains: the Crescent, the Carolinian and the Piedmont. The Crescent uses the longer north platform closer to the station, while the Carolinian and Piedmont use the shorter south platform. This is because the Crescent takes a more northerly route to the Northeast via Danville, Virginia while the Carolinian and Piedmont use an easterly route via Raleigh.