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Downtown hub hopes: A new intermodal station could be the South's next great destination ... if the Magic City can stay on track
http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2014/03/down...er_default

I remember walking through the Terminal Station as a kid to meet a relative arriving on "The Hummingbird", a train from New England and headed, I think, for Florida. It was a grand and impressive place to experience with that dome and large murals on the walls.

It was offered to the City Commission at a reasonable price - until the Chattanooga Choo-Choo was so successful and the price shot up into the millions.

Its demolition began with the two towers on the ends and proceeded toward its dome. One night the dome suddenly collapsed, crashing through the floor and down into the 5th Avenue tunnel. Fortunately, no one was driving through at the time so there was no loss of life. A large concrete slab is all that is left at that site today.

I have often thought that the grief from losing that station was the reason the city held onto the Sloss Furnaces so strongly. Had the station been saved, we would probably not have them both today.

(03-03-2014 04:48 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  I remember walking through the Terminal Station as a kid to meet a relative arriving on "The Hummingbird", a train from New England and headed, I think, for Florida. It was a grand and impressive place to experience with that dome and large murals on the walls.

It was offered to the City Commission at a reasonable price - until the Chattanooga Choo-Choo was so successful and the price shot up into the millions.

Its demolition began with the two towers on the ends and proceeded toward its dome. One night the dome suddenly collapsed, crashing through the floor and down into the 5th Avenue tunnel. Fortunately, no one was driving through at the time so there was no loss of life. A large concrete slab is all that is left at that site today.

I have often thought that the grief from losing that station was the reason the city held onto the Sloss Furnaces so strongly. Had the station been saved, we would probably not have them both today.

At least the ghost over at Sloss are happy. Tearing that terminal down was borderline criminal though!