Southern Terminal - Knoxville Old City

This view was taken from the 2006 Gay St. Viaduct. There are 11 tracks here at its widest point.

Southern Railway was formed in the 1890s at the merging of two railroad companies. In 1902, Southern hired architect Frank Pierce Milburn to design new train stations at several of their major terminals. Two years later, the Southern Terminal opened in Knoxville. Many warehouses and factories surrounded this area because of its important shipping routes.

The station looks today much the same as it did in 1904, except a large clock tower was removed in 1945 wen deemed structurally unsafe. The last passenger train came through in 1970. Today, the building is on the National Register of Historic Places as the integral part of The Southern Terminal and Warehouse District, an area which is today known as Old City.

This passenger station and the freight depot next door are designed in a similar style with Classical Revival influence. Most notable is the corbel-stepped gabled roof.