I think it’s safe to say that, of all the old buildings in downtown Greensboro, the Galyon Depot may be N&R reporter Jim Schlosser’s favorite. Schlosser’s excited over the depot’s next phase, a welcome center that’s opening in a former concession area. Maybe, just maybe, the depot can return to the good old days when people actually rode trains. He even has a suggestion of his own:
The welcome center is part of the final phase of the $30 million renovation. The first phase was retrofitting a train station for bus use. The second phase brought back the trains, which left in 1979 when Southern Railway, which is now Norfolk Southern, moved to a smaller depot and gave the old station to the city. The trains returned in 2005.
Now the transportation department, which operates the depot, intends to aggressively market the blocklong complex as Southern Railway once did.
During the golden era of passenger trains from the 1920s to 1940s, the station hummed with commercial activity. A lunchroom, now a large empty space across from the welcome center, served travelers and downtown workers. The Union Newsstand drew people who came at all hours to buy the latest editions of big city newspapers that express trains dropped off.
A barber shop was off the concourse and included shoeshine men.
Behind the ticket windows that run along one wall of the concourse was the Jim Crow waiting room for black travelers. It included a dining area.
Amtrak originally intended to use the former black waiting room instead of the larger concourse. But that was changed, and the bigger room serves instead. It is one of Greensboro’s most beautiful rooms, with its high ceiling, Southern Railway mural map and other decorative features.
The former black waiting room is available for lease. (City transportation director Jim) Westmoreland says his office has received inquiries. The space offerings also include rooms for offices above the Greyhound station.
A convenience store or restaurant has been talked about for the former Jim Crow room. A coffee shop might be ideal for the old lunch room.
The city couldn’t have better PR. That said, I’m not looking to diss the depot. It turns out I’ve spent quite a bit of time down there, whether —-get this— riding the Amtrak train myself or waiting on relatives coming to and fro. It is indeed a beautiful building and really does give you a feeling for the days when train was the main mode of transportation. What a different world it was then. It’s a vast improvement over the Oakland Avenue station, to say the least, and the fact that it’s a hundred times more convenient for someone who lives downtown makes it good for me.
By the same token, I notice when I’m down there how empty the place is. A handful of people at most get on and off the trains and buses. Westmoreland says city buses bring 13,000-to 15,000 people through the depot a day. I’ve been down there at all times of day and somehow I’ve missed them filing through.
Funny I was thinking about this on the way home when a GTA bus carrying four people on it pulled up next to me. That’s just public transportation, I thought to myself, a lot of money to serve a small percentage of the population. If you’re OK with that, fine. Just so long as you know.
