International & Great Northern Railroad Passenger Station
a.k.a. Missouri Pacific Station
Medina and Houston Sts., San Antonio, TXThe International & Great Northern Railroad passenger station is one of only two remaining railroad stations in San Antonio, and is one of the few remaining buildings designed by Harvey L. Page. The building is significant not only for its excellence in architectural de-tailing, but also for its representation of an important transportation center in the city's early 20th century history.
San Antonio emerged as an important cultural and economic center of South Texas after the arrival of the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad in 1877. The year 1879 marks the beginning of the extension of the International & Great Northern Railroad from Austin to Laredo, thereby linking the United States with Mexico. At the time of this extension, a station was erected in San Antonio which served the railroad until the present station was built in 1907. The International & Great Northern, although an affiliate of the Texas & Pacific and the Missouri Pacific systems, was operated as an independent line until January 1, 1924, when the company was bought by the New Orleans, Texas, and Mexico Railway, a Missouri Pacific property. All of the affiliate railroads assumed the Missouri Pacific name in the 1930's as a means of alleviating the confusion of the many separate lines.
Harvey L. Page was commissioned in 1906 as the architect for the station at the intersection of Medina and Houston Streets. Construction of the building was begun the same year by James Stewart and Company for the International & Great Northern Railroad. A monumental growth in passenger train traffic at the turn of the century coupled with the economic growth of the railroad industry resulted in the necessity for a facility that would both serve the public as well as reflect a prosperous image. The station was one of the transportation centers for the city until the end of World War II when passenger train activity began to decline. By 1965 only one train both North and South used the station on a daily basis. This once luxurious train, the "Texas Eagle", connecting St. Louis with Laredo was reduced to "Coach Only" status beginning January 1, 1968, with the removal of all Pullman Company-owned cars from United States railroads.
Another event that marked the decline of passenger train activity at the station was the removal of the platform canopies in the late 1960's. The facility was closed in September 1970 when the last "Texas Eagle" left the station. Maintenance of the facility ceased many years previous to the discontinuance of passenger service as is reflected in the advanced state of decay.
Dr. Max Morales, Jr., purchased the building in 1972 and plans are pending through the Amtrak Improvement Act to adapt the facility for inter-modal transportation activity. Amtrak service from St. Louis to Laredo uses the platform on the West side of the station, but tickets must be purchased from the Southern Pacific station fifteen blocks to the East.
Bibliography
Osborne, Pat, Historic Monograph on Missouri Pacific Depot, City of San Antonio, 1975.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.