Southern Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot
601 E. Madison St., Brownsville, TXThe Southern Pacific Depot in Brownsville is a fine example of a Spanish Colonial Revival structure and symbolizes the importance of the railroad to the economic development of Brownsville and the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Brownsville is the largest city in the thriving semi-tropical region at the southern tip of Texas. The Depot's isolated position and its design make it one of Brownsville's most outstanding landmarks. The architectural style is reminiscent of the 18th Century Spanish settlement of South Texas.
Although railroads had been planned for this region of the South, during the Civil War shipments of cotton through Texas to Mexico and the Gulf via Brownsville had to rely on other means of transportation. In 1871 the first railroad, the Rio Grande Railway, came into Brownsville. Later, St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railroad was extended. It was followed by the San Benito and Rio Grande Valley Railway in 1912 and the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1927. These railroads served the agricultural markets, that were thriving due to extensive irrigation, as well as an international trade stimulated by the development of Port Brownsville.
Missouri Pacific was already established in Brownsville when Southern Pacific acquired the charter for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway in 1925. This event, appropriately celebrated, became significant to the development of the Valley. Attended by V.I.P.s from the Railway, the celebration was a part of the first annual South Texas Chamber of Commerce Convention and the day was declared Southern Pacific Day. Southern Pacific also brought in the special track-laying machine which made possible the rapid expansion of its railway system into this area. The first train arrived in Brownsville, on November 10, 1927.
Southern Pacific and the Missouri Pacific Railroads are joined by the Mexican National Railway in Matamoras, just across the Rio Grande River.
The structure was used as a depot until 1952 when it was leased to the Gulf Pacific Cotton Agency for warehouse and office space. The City of Brownsville is negotiating to purchase the depot and adapt it for reuse.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
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.