Tampa Union Station Tampa, Florida

West and South Facades

West and South Facades

Lobby looking Northeast

Lobby looking Northeast

Lobby looking Northeast

Lobby looking Northeast

Lobby looking Northwest

Lobby looking Northwest

Lobby looking Northwest -1997

Lobby looking Northwest -1997

East Stair

East Stair

East Stair - 1997

East Stair - 1997

South Facade circa 1915

South Facade circa 1915

Original Ticket Office

Original Ticket Office

Client: City of Tampa

Location: 601 North Nebraska Avenue

Site: A historic train station just north of Tampa’s downtown central business district that was built in 1912, and closed and abandoned in 1984.

Program Challenge: To transform the station into a modern, working Amtrak terminal. The restoration also needed to comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings.

Solution: Rowe Architects worked to maintain the station’s most important historical elements with painstaking restoration strategies while also addressing structural issues. The exterior masonry was cleaned and repaired where needed, water damage on the interior ceilings was repaired and the original moldings were refurbished. The main lobby and the adjacent ticket counters were completely upgraded for modern use. The entire structure was renovated to meet accessibility codes and requirements and new plumbing, air conditioning, and electrical systems were added throughout.

The rehabilitation resulted in the station’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places, and it also greatly enhanced the aesthetic qualities of a once blighted neighborhood. The location and success of the restoration has effectively provided a link from the city’s central business district to the historic Ybor City.

The project was partially funded by State of Florida Historic Preservation Special Category grants and U.S. Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) grant funds. In 1999, the project was honored with AIA Tampa Bay’s Award for Design Excellence, the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation’s Merit Award, and the Award for Outstanding Historic Preservation from the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission.