This historic train station was constructed in 1924 by the Seaboard Air Line Railway. It brought passengers to Central Florida on the Orange Blossom Line and boosted tourism to the area at a time when the only other way to travel was down unpaved roads.
Features of the Mediterranean Revival style building include stucco walls, a red barrel tile roof, round arch doorways and windows, a fireplace inside the station, and decorative terracotta pieces like the shield above a doorway.
Amtrak took over operation of the station in 1971. On March 16, 1990 the train station was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The train station was restored in 1998 through a project led by the city of Sebring. First they stabilized the structure with funds from a historic preservation grant from the Florida Department of State and from Amtrak. The rest of the $800,000 project was paid for with with money from the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. The station was rededicated on April 24, 1998.
Twenty years passed with no further work on the station. With four trains running through the station daily cosmetic work was needed and it had to be made handicap accessible. Phase 1 of the 2018 project which has been completed added disabled parking spots, made the interior of the station handicap accessible, and added a push switch to open the doors. Phase 2 is more labor intensive because structural changes need to be made to the station. Amtrak has hired Enfield Enterprises Inc., to head the project. They are a a contractor with extensive experience renovating train stations and have worked on depots all over the country. They are replacing the existing platform with 1,104 foot concrete platform that is 8 inches higher than the top of the track which will make it easier for disabled passengers to board and to exit the train. They are also going to take down the outdoor shelters and replace them with new foundations. If wood needs to be replaced they will use the exact same wood to keep with the historic nature of the structure. Many other cosmetic items will be addressed including a new roof except for the tile portions and any cracked tiles will be replaced with the same kind of tile, replacement of the cast iron drain leaders, new canopy light fixtures, and repainting and remounting the historic wooden signs.
Today the station receives four daily train stops, 2 north and 2 southbound. This station is listed in Amtrak's Caretaker category which means that someone comes in to open and lose the station daily and service the area. Inside the station is restrooms, a waiting room, and vending machine. Passengers using the station have been steadily declining and now average around 20,000 people a year. Tickets must be purchased online or by calling Amtrak. Although you have a lot more transportation options today love how the city of Sebring and Amtrak has partnered together to preserve this historic building that bore witness to the golden age of the railroad. read more