Reconstructed train platform will soon join depot on Centre Street

Submitted by Suanne Z. Thamm
Reporter – News Analyst
March 29, 2016 9:52 a.m.

Soon a new structure will begin to rise at the west façade of the Historic Train Depot on Centre Street: a reconstructed train platform. Although its construction may seem odd to current city residents and visitors—especially since there is no longer any passenger or freight rail service to Fernandina—it will serve as a reminder of the importance of the railroad to the development and growth of this city. And it will also serve an important purpose: a place for downtown visitors to rest in shade while they enjoy a view of the Amelia River front.

The current board of the Amelia Island Fernandina Restoration Foundation hatched the idea of the reconstruction project a few years ago when work began to restore the train depot. Old photographs were unearthed that showed the original platform, which once stretched from Centre Street on the north beyond the rear of the depot to the south. The Restoration Foundation took on the reconstruction project as a way to honor local citizens who came together in 1972 to work to save the city’s rich architectural heritage. Thanks to the efforts of those individuals, both the national and local historic districts were created. The Restoration Foundation also played a key role in saving buildings important to the history of the community–the Nassau County Historic Courthouse, the building that today houses St. Michael’s School and the Phelan-Verot house, to name a few.

Primarily the Restoration Foundation has underwritten the $100K cost of the reconstruction project, with assistance from the City of Fernandina Beach ($25K), the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, and local builder Clayton Buchanan. Benjamin Morrison of Cotner Associates, Inc. developed the plans for the new platform, which is a smaller version of the original. Architect Jose Miranda of Miranda Architects, is project manager on behalf of the Restoration Foundation. Clayton Buchanan, who executed the restoration plan for the Train Depot, is also overseeing the train platform project.

The groundwork has been completed for the new structure. Soon the vertical elements will be built. While the project will not be ready in time for Shrimp Fest, it will be completed in time for summer visitors to enjoy a shady spot to watch the riverfront. Additionally, the new covered space will provide performance venue for musical events and other public activities.

With the completion of the train platform project, the Restoration Foundation will have added one more element to the depot campus, having previously contributed to the depot restoration and the cleanup and repair of the Duryee Fountain. The Restoration Foundation also commissioned and purchased the seated statue of David Levy Yulee, which depicts and honors the man credited with the founding of modern Fernandina.

Update:

Editor Susan Steger took the following photo yesterday.  Progress continues!