A couple of weeks ago, I was exploring the downtown areas of El Paso, Texas for different places to safely watch trains and to experience the old railroad culture of that great city. In an effort to photograph the Union Pacific locomotive 4642, I discovered what was once the Southern Pacific Railroad Freight Depot built in 1903. The building now overlooks the passing Union Pacific line. The building is a 100 year old Freight Depot that has been turned into a night club, with several different names over the last five years.
As I drove across the bridge, I was able to take a closer look at this building and see how beautiful it truly was. As it appears to me, little has been done to alter the outside of the building—I stands as it stood when freight trains would stop to take on their load. At the first glance, one can see the large warehouse doors opening for loading and storage. I would be most interested to enter the upper floor—those that were least likely to be renovated and see the architectural structure that once assumedly housed the management offices of the depot.
The building as an interesting find in downtown El Paso. Many times, we miss these treasures as time passes by. We get comfortable with their presence and forget their significance. This building once housed a busy freight operation as the nation was driven by the power of locomotives bringing large quantities of supplies across to the west. I believe these building stand as a remind of those cherished days in the building of our entire country.