On September 17, 1925, construction began on the new Frisco passenger station in Springfield, Missouri.
Located on the southwest corner of Mill Street and Main Avenue, the depot was originally built in 1882 as part of the Kansas City, Fort Scott, and Gulf Railroad. In 1901, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company took ownership, and the passenger station was known as the Frisco Depot. Twenty-four years later, Frisco hired architect R. C. Stevens to remodel the station in an ornate California-mission style, also known as Spanish style, using brick and stucco.
The building was completed in 1927 by the Johnson Construction Company and cost $250,000, equivalent to over $4 million today. It was equipped with a general waiting room, ticket office, employee offices and apartments, and a Fred Harvey restaurant. A decline in railroad travel led to the closure of the Frisco Depot in 1967. Due to lack of upkeep and city buy-in, the building was razed on March 3, 1971.
To learn more about the Frisco Depot and the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Company, visit the Springfield Research Center inside MSU’s Meyer Library or find us online at SHSMO.org. =