Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Station
1174 E. Commerce St., San Antonio, TXThe Southern Pacific Passenger Station in San Antonio is one of the finest examples of the Mission Style as applied to railroad architecture in Texas. The building is significant not only for the excellence of its craftsmanship and detailing, but also for its reflection of the tastes that were popular in the Southwest around the turn of the century. Equally significant is the fact that neither the station nor its out-buildings have been altered since their construction in 1902.
February, 1877, was the date when the Southern Pacific (then the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio Railroad) was built through San Antonio. It was the first railroad built-through the city, and a station was built at the corner of Austin,and Tenth Streets the same year. This station served-the railroad until the present facility was opened in 1902.
Through service between Los Angeles and New Orleans began February 1, 1883. These trains were the "Atlantic Express" and the "Pacific Express". Luxury service through San Antonio on the Los Angeles-New Orleans route was begun on November 1, 1894. The train was the "Sunset Limited", the "crack flyer" of the Southern Pacific. This was a weekly, bi-weekly, or tri*«weekly operation, depending on the traffic demand. Beginning on April 21, 1902, the schedule was changed so that the train ran only from early December through late April. With the opening of the new station in the Fall of 1902, the schedule was changed to allow the "Sunset Limited" to run on a daily basis. Except for a brief period during World War I, the train continued in daily service until Amtrak assumed the operation on May 1, 1971. Other trains that the Southern Pacific operated through the San Antonio station were the "Argonaut", the "Alamo", and the "Border Limited". New stream-lined diesel powered trains began operation through San Antonio on August 20, 1950.
Bibliography
Bexar County Records
Southern Pacific Railroad Records
Beebe, Lucius. The Central Pacific & The Southern Pacific Railroads.
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.