The restoration of Tampa Union Station is quite literally bringing back a long-gone piece of the downtown landmark’s history.
Thanks to community contributions, the nonprofit Friends of Tampa Union Station bought the historic train station’s original door handles and knobs from a collector in Miami. These collector’s items from a bygone era when rail ruled transportation are adorned with the same “TUS” etched in stone at the top of Tampa Union Station.
After the renovation project finishes, Friends of Tampa Union Station, a group committed to the preservation and restoration of the historic train station, plans to showcase the antique door hardware and other station artifacts in a museum-style display area inside the station. The nonprofit has a $7,500 grant from the Duckwall Foundation to purchase a new and improved display case for historic items from the station’s past.
The door handles and fixtures are not the only historic additions.
“Someone on Facebook last year made us aware of some old train benches that were just sitting in a warehouse,” Friends of Union Station President Brandie Miklus says.
The nonprofit group purchased a pair of antique 100-year-old train station waiting
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Friends of Tampa Union StationTampa Union Station now has a pair of restored antique train station waiting room benches
room benches stored in a Hastings, Florida warehouse and raised funds through a “seat campaign” to have the benches restored by a local company, Artisan Restorations in Pinellas Park. Now, those antique benches will be permanent fixtures in Tampa Union Station’s waiting room.
“They’re sitting in the station right now and they’re beautiful,” Miklus says.
Preserve, maintain, reimagine
City-owned Tampa Union Station, 601 N. Nebraska Ave., was built in 1912, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, closed in 1984, and reopened after a major renovation in 1998. With 156,000 passengers last year, it’s the busiest Amtrak station in Florida, even though it handles only two trains per day.
Yet, a lot of people still don’t realize downtown Tampa has a historic train station that's still in operation.
“It’s crazy because it’s been in downtown Tampa since 1912 and it’s one of the oldest buildings in Tampa that still serves its original purpose,” Miklus says.
The $4 million historic renovation of the station, which is funded primarily by the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency with help from a $408,000 state historic preservation grant, got underway in May and is expected to finish in December. Friends of Tampa Union Station and the City of Tampa’s shared vision for the project is to preserve the station’s historic character, support the current day Amtrak passenger rail service, and reimagine the station as a vibrant civic hub that connects the city’s past with its future.
“We have a vision of Tampa Union Station to not only serve as an active train station, but to become a destination,” Miklus says.
Inspired by other revitalized stations across the country, Friends of Tampa Union Station and the City of Tampa are looking at potential additions like a coffee shop, cocktail lounge, co-working space, and after-hours events venue to generate activity.
Miklus says these additions are essential to the station’s long-term sustainability.
“Having those different types of uses not only serves the train passengers but also creates more foot traffic in the area,” she says. “It would really make it a destination. When you have different uses, you have new revenue, and that revenue can go back to preserving, protecting, and promoting the station.”
Right now, the focus is restoring key areas of the building after years of wear. Since a major restoration in the late 1990s, water intrusion and deteriorating materials have left the building, particularly the windows, in need of improvements.
“The windows are in desperate need of help,” Miklus says.
Friends of Union Station Vice President Jerel McCants, the architect for the restoration project, says years of underfunded maintenance have necessitated a major renovation project with windows, outdated building systems, and deteriorated areas inside and outside the building now slated for significant repairs and upgrades.
McCants says upgrades will include window trim replacement with a longer-lasting, densified wood assembly, brick cleaning and protective coating, plaster restoration and repainting, and a complete restroom remodel with finishes that reflect the aesthetic of the early 1900s. The large iron canopy structure that protects passengers will also be cleaned, repaired, and coated, McCants says.
Making a destination
Tampa Union Station is strategically located in what Miklus refers to as the “five-point district,” bordered by major developments like Encore, Gasworx, the Channel District, Water Street, and downtown’s central business district.
“That area will be transformed,” she says. “More people are going to start living here in the next couple of years and beyond.”
While the coffee shop, lounge, and events venue are not part of the current construction phase, they’re central to the long-term vision. The City of Tampa plans to issue a request for proposals to bring in a concessionaire to help activate the space.
“Really making it a destination and having those different uses... portions of those monies can go back to the station and so that way it’s a nice cycle,” Miklus explains.
For both Miklus and McCants, the restoration is about more than bricks and mortar – it’s about preserving a historic landmark that continues to serve its community in a changing city. As Tampa grows around it, Tampa Union Station stands as a symbol of continuity and vision, poised to evolve from a historical site into a dynamic civic space and a vital part of Tampa’s future.
“It’s not just about history,” Miklus says. “It’s about what’s next.”
For more information, go to Tampa Union Station