H&TC and I&GN Depots
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On December 25, 1871, the first train into Austin rolled over Waller Creek, bringing with it hope, prosperity and progress. The Houston and Texas Central (H&TC) Railroad made Austin its westernmost terminus in the state and the most prominent trading hub in Central Texas. The railroad brought growth and success to the city and a depot of a first class nature was needed. After thirty years of public debate, legal maneuvers and economic constraints, the depot was finally completed in 1902 at the northeast corner of Third Street and Congress Avenue. The depot was designed with stained glass windows, a wrought iron staircase and an ornate fireplace. Beginning in 1904, the H&TC began sharing the depot with the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (M-K-T), better known as "The Katy," which ran service until 1964. The depot was demolished in 1965. In 1876, the International and Great Northern (I&GN) opened the second rail line to Austin, becoming the city's major rail line for many years. Citizens again suggested a depot be built which mirrored the stature Austin now held within the state. In 1888, I&GN hired Gustav Wilke, who built the state capitol, to build the new depot at the southwest corner of Third and Congress. It included granite trimmings, red oak, and a slate roof. I&GN and its successor, the Missouri Pacific, ran trains out of the depot until 1949, when a new depot was built on Lamar Boulevard. The I&GN depot was demolished in 1955. These depots represented the influential and important position Austin held as the state capital. They also helped bring commerce, transportation, and sophistication to the burgeoning city and highlighted Austin's promise as passengers stepped off the trains. (2010)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On Christmas Day 1871 the first train crossed Waller Creek into Austin, making the capital the Houston and Texas Central's western terminus and Central Texas's leading trading hub. After decades of debate the H&TC finally opened a first-class depot at Third and Congress in 1902, with stained glass and a wrought-iron staircase, while the rival International and Great Northern built its own granite-trimmed station nearby, designed by capitol builder Gustav Wilke. Both grand depots served the city into the mid-twentieth century before being demolished as rail travel faded.
Why it matters
The railroads and their showcase depots announced Austin's ambitions as a state capital, drawing the commerce and people that transformed a river town into a modern city.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Gustav Wilke
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Congress Avenue
Austin, TX
When Edwin Waller laid out Austin in 1839 as capital of the Republic of Texas, he made Congress Avenue the city's grand central street, and "The Avenue" soon filled with government buildings, hotels, saloons, and shops. It witnessed gaslights and mule-drawn streetcars in the 1870s, the rise of the great 1888 Capitol at its head, and brick paving and trolleys in the twentieth century. Recognized for its history and architecture, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Sixth Street
Austin, TX
Laid out as Pecan Street on Edwin Waller's 1839 plan for the new capital, this thoroughfare drew a diverse population and grew into a commercial heart of nineteenth-century Austin. Its flat ground and safe distance from the flood-prone Colorado River made it ideal for shops, saloons, stables, and lumber yards, often with owners living above their businesses. Renamed Sixth Street in 1884, it accumulated Austin's largest concentration of Victorian commercial architecture, and restoration efforts begun in the 1960s revived the district.
O. Henry Hall
Austin, TX
Built between 1877 and 1881 as a federal courthouse and post office, this building was raised by noted early Texas builder Abner Cook in a restrained, symmetrical style inspired by Italian Renaissance palaces. It later became famous as the site of the federal trial of William Sidney Porter — the short-story writer known as O. Henry — and after decades of government use it was given to the University of Texas System, which restored it and named it in his honor.
Claudia Taylor Johnson Hall
Austin, TX
Built between 1912 and 1914 as Austin's seventh U.S. post office, this neo-classical revival building was designed under Treasury supervising architect James Knox Taylor and raised by a Kansas construction firm for nearly $173,000. When a new federal building opened in 1965, the government handed it to the University of Texas System, which remodeled it into administrative offices in 1970. It was later named for Claudia 'Lady Bird' Taylor Johnson, wife of the 36th U.S. president.