Built 1895 Opened 1895 | NRHP Reference # 73001440 Added to NRHP 18 June 1973 | |
 | ||
Location 379 West Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio Similar Union Station, Alum Creek, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus Country Club, Green Lawn Cemetery | ||
The Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad Station is a former railroad station located west of downtown Columbus, Ohio, known for its "whimsical and unusual" architecture. Built by the Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad in 1895, it served as a passenger station until 1930. It served as an office building for Volunteers of America for many years afterwards, and now serves as a meeting hall for a firefighters union. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
History
The Toledo and Ohio Central Railroad built the station in 1895, intending it as a display of the talents of architects Joseph Warren Yost and Frank L. Packard and of the railroad's prosperity. The tracks were then at ground level on the west side of the building. The distinctive Macklin Hotel, since demolished, was located across the tracks. Yost and Packard modeled the station after the hotel's three pagoda-style towers, but added an Art Nouveau twist.
In 1911, the railroad raised its tracks to eliminate grade crossings. The station was awkwardly modified, with passengers exiting the second story onto an elevated platform. In 1930, service moved to the larger Union Station and the station was abandoned.
The next year, Volunteers of America purchased the building and began using it as office space. The Macklin Hotel was demolished in 1955, leaving the station standing without its original context. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It suffered a fire in 1975 which destroyed the roof, but the VoA restored it three years later. The organization moved out of the building in 2003.
In 2007, International Association of Fire Fighters local 67 bought and restored the station building for use as their offices and meeting hall. Norfolk Southern Railroad freight trains continue to use the elevated tracks.