Louisville & Nashville Railroad Depot, 301 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ALA,63-TUSLO,25-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This report is based on written documentation donated by the Birmingham Historical Society, reformatted to HABS/HAER guidelines. Description; This Beaux Arts style depot built of yellow brick with limestone detailing, copper cornice and entrance awnings, and red tile roof now serves as a popular restaurant. Interior spaces are well preserved as is the bed of the abandoned L. & N. Railway which approaches the depot from the northeast, passing through the University of Alabama campus and residential areas.

Source document Quoted word for word from HABS ALA,63-TUSLO,25-. Not written, edited or summarised by this site.

This finely-detailed station marks the furthermost extension of the L. & N.- Birmingham Mineral Railroad which opened Tuscaloosa County coal fields to economic development. Condition: Adaptive reuse as popular restaurant and party spot. LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD DEPOT HABS No. AL-971 (Page 2)

Historical Overview

In the L.& N. Railroad formed the Birmingham Mineral Railroad to penetrate the coal and iron ore regions throughout the Birmingham District. Several years later, in the L.& N. extended a 27-mile branch line known as the Blue Creek Extension through the coal mining communities of Adger, Johns and Sumpter in Jefferson County to Yolande in Tuscaloosa County and on to Blockton Junction on the northern edge of Bibb County. This Blue Creek extension was the first major rail carrier to enter the mineral region of Tuscaloosa County. By the line extended to Brookwood and in construction of an 18-mile branch line linked these coal fields to Tuscaloosa (Klein It was in this year that the current Tuscaloosa station was constructed. The recently abandoned L. & N. roadbed also remains.

Sources Consulted National Register, Klein, Maury, History of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, pp. 270 Site Visits, fall