Published October 25, 2022, for State 48 A2Z
In our third of four articles on Globe and some of its historic buildings, we take an exciting look at the town’s historic 1916 Train Depot built by the Gila Valley, Globe, and Northern Railway on the corners of Broad Street and Sycamore Streets. The buildings remain today on the site which is under the control of the Globe Main Street Program and available for tours or event rentals.
The Gila Valley, Globe, and Northern Railway was first chartered in 1885 with the line to Globe being completed in 1889. Once the rail line was completed, the GVG&N connected Globe to the Southern Pacific line in Bowie, Arizona, and, from there, to Tucson, Phoenix, Yuma, and beyond. The railway completion was very important to the mining operations in and around the Globe-Miami area. With the new rail line, Globe was booming with new miners and residents, many of which were immigrants from places such as Italy, Ireland, China, Austria, and other countries. It seems that as soon as immigrants arrived on the east coast, they somehow found that Arizona was the place to go, so they did.
The Arizona Eastern Railway completed the purchase of GVG&N in 1910 and began making needed infrastructure and facility improvements. As Globe was growing and travel by rail was becoming more popular and commonplace, these improvements were necessary. The railroad would obtain the services of Trost and Trost in 1916 to design a new depot complex for Globe. Trost and Trost was an architectural firm based in El Paso, New Mexico.
The new train depot design consisted of a passenger depot, a restaurant building, and a Wells Fargo office. The buildings were completed exteriorly using fired red brick to give them a modestly classic style. The depot is a 92-foot by 36-foot two-story building with concrete accents complimenting its brick walls. Both the Depot and Wells Fargo buildings were listed in the National Register of Historical Places in 1987.
As we have discussed in recent weeks the role in history that Globe has played, another important historical note is that the very first locomotive purchased by GVG&N was the Jupiter which they bought from the Central Pacific Railroad. The Jupiter made US railway history when it joined the Union Pacific #119 at Promontory Summit, Utah on May 10, 1869, to commemorate the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad at the Golden Spike ceremony. To the dismay of historians and railway enthusiasts alike, the historic locomotive, built in 1838 by Schenectady Locomotive Works, was sold for scrap in 1909 for $1,000.
As travel by airplanes, busses and automobiles was becoming more popular, passenger rail service declined, and the depot was forced to cease operations in 1954. Following its shuttering of the doors, the building was used as a Greyhound Bus station, Red Cross office, and even as a laundromat for roughly 20 years before it finally ended up under the control of the Globe Main Street Program, which restored the buildings in 2007.
In 2008, the depot’s glory days were relived for a short period as Thursday through Sunday weekend excursion service was offered from Globe to the Apache Gold Hotel and Casino near San Carlos. The excursion line was called the Copper Spike and operated winters through spring from 2008 until spring 2011. Ownership of the rail line was sold by GVG&N to Genesee & Wyoming, Inc. in 2011, and the service was discontinued.
Today the passenger depot still has the old wood ticket window which presents a very stunning statement as soon as you open the doors. The depot also contains pieces and artifacts of train and railroad history while maintaining its original early 20th-century design. There is even a scale model of the famed Jupiter locomotive on display in the mini depot (old Wells Fargo office). The depot also serves as a meeting hall for various community organizations and is available for rental for special events such as weddings and graduations.
For more information on Globe’s historic 1916 Train Depot, please visit their Facebook page.
That’ll wrap things up for this week. As always, thanks for reading, stay safe, and happy travels. Be sure to like and follow us on social media (links below), share our blog posts, and feel free to give us your feedback. We’d love to hear from you. Peace!
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