Seaboard Air-Line Railway Station #2
The State editorial, May 31, 1904
Completed in early summer 1904, the Seaboard Air-Line Railway Station (now the Blue Marlin) was built by J.P. Pettijohn and Co. of Lynchburg, Va. for $35,000, and was the third passenger depot built in Columbia. The first railway station was the South Carolina Railroad Depot on Gervais St., built about 1850, followed by the Union Station on Main St., built in 1902, (which served passengers for the Atlantic Coast Line and Southern Railway).
The Seaboard Air-Line Railway Station had two waiting rooms (because of segregation:, a ticket and baggage office, and a covered walkway that was 40 feet wide and 416 feet long, which continued on the other side of Gervais Street, so passengers could reach their train cars without getting wet.
Originally, Seaboard had promised to build this new station in the Sidney Park rail yard that the city had leased to the railroad company in 1899, but the rail company chose this location on Lincoln Street instead.
This depot and baggage room were listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The station served passengers on the Seaboard Air-Line Railway (later the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad until 1991.
Lower Photos
Seaboard Air-Line Railway Station, 1942. (Left to right):
this page online
Courtesy of "Through The Heart Of The South; The Seaboard Air Line Railroad Story."
Photographs by George E. Votava
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical date for this entry is May 31, 1900.
Location. 34° 0.017′ N, 81° 2.316′ W. Marker is in Columbia, South Carolina, in Richland County. It is in Midtown - Downtown. Marker is on Lincoln Street just north of Gervais Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Columbia SC 29201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Seaboard Air-Line Railway Station #1 (within shouting distance of this marker); Lincoln Street (within shouting distance of this marker); 1001 Gervais Street (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Generations (about 600 feet away); History of the Lincoln Street Tunnel (about 600 feet away); R.L. Bryan Co. Warehouse (about 600 feet away); 9 -11 / First Responders (about 600 feet away); Gadsden Street (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Columbia.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 16, 2023. It was originally submitted on May 8, 2015, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. This page has been viewed 459 times since then and 67 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 8, 2015, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland.
