By 
June 22, 2025
As the City initiates public discussion about the Historic Huntsville Depot and the surrounding grounds, what exactly does that site entail?
Actually, it’s a little bit of everything. That includes a popular event center, the historic depot building, a park-like area between them and a deteriorating building on the periphery. The site is on the northern side of Huntsville’s prosperous and growing downtown area.
So let’s take a tour through the seven-acre depot site and maybe spark some ideas about what its best use might be moving forward.
The site is four blocks north of the downtown square, bordered on the south by Monroe Street and by Church and Jefferson streets on the west and east sides, respectively. The northern border is the active Norfolk Southern railroad track.
Historical depot building
The depot building, located in the northwest corner of the site at 320 Church St. NW, is the only historical structure on the grounds. It’s a three-story brick structure with 10,500 square feet and most recently served as a railroad museum.
A historical marker was installed outside the depot in 1971, commemorating its storied past when Union soldiers captured it in 1862 and severed a critical east-west Confederate railroad. Newcomers to Huntsville during its initial boomtown status in the 1950s, including Wernher von Braun, first arrived at the depot as well.
The depot’s first floor preserves the authenticity of a bustling transit station during the heyday of locomotives, complete with long wooden benches for waiting passengers as well as ticket windows and vintage signing. The two upper floors of the building are made up of large and small rooms.
The historic depot also includes the baggage platforms on the north side of the building as well as outbuildings that could be combined into one functional space.
The popular Roundhouse
Located on the southeast corner of the depot grounds at 398 Monroe St. SW, the Roundhouse is perhaps the most familiar building at the site. It’s often described as a historical facility but it is a 1980s-era reproduction. The 10,400 square foot Roundhouse has proven popular over the years for events ranging from weddings to political rallies.
Associated with the Roundhouse is a separate 820-square-foot wood-frame house that’s currently used as a suite for wedding parties.
Depot Grounds
The gas station building on the east side of the property needs to be demolished because of its declining condition. The turnstile located outside the Roundhouse, designed to replicate offloading train cars in and out of the Roundhouse, is no longer operational and would have no functioning role in the reimagining of the depot grounds.
The biggest part of the grounds is a grassy park-like area linking the historic depot building and the Roundhouse. It features a 1,190 square-foot open-air pavilion. The grassy area connects the greenway already in place with Gateway Greenway and, across Jefferson Street, the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial to the Spragins Street bike path, extending the greenway to Big Spring Park East. It will remain as part of the greenway in the new master plan.
Public meeting dates
The City’s public feedback online survey to learn more about your ideas for the depot property is available through June 14. Two public input sessions have also been scheduled:
- Tuesday, July 15, from 5-7 p.m. at the Roundhouse
- Wednesday, July 16, at 10 a.m. at the Roundhouse.
The City looks forward to hearing your ideas!
