History of the Depot Station Building
The first Manassas Junction rail depot was a small log building located to the east of the present station and on the north side of the tracks where the Alexandria and Orange and Manassas Gap railroads crossed in 1852.
After the Civil War, the first depot on the present site was a long frame building constructed in the 1880s following the typical depot designs of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company, which purchased controlling interest in the Orange & Alexandria in 1886. This frame depot was dismantled in 1904 and replaced by a brick passenger depot. On June 25, 1914 a fire broke out in the baggage room and the depot burned, leaving only the foundation and walls.
Work on the third and present depot was completed in October 1914, in a red-brick Victorian style with a ceramic tile-covered hipped roof. The structure partially incorporated the walls of the burned depot, which measured about 20 feet by 77 feet, and had four new rooms; an office, a ladies’ waiting room, men’s waiting room and a baggage and express room. The “new” structure is about 32 feet longer than the earlier one permitting a modified room arrangement and included the addition of an umbrella shed on the front and east side, the installation of electric lights, and an attractive tile roof.
In the 1990s, the city of Manassas acquired the depot from Norfolk Southern Railway and restored the structure under the direction of The Manassas Museum System. Renovation was completed in 1997 after two and a half years or work by the city of Manassas Department of Historic Resources. Today, the railroad depot is still in use for VRE commuters.
After the Civil War, the first depot on the present site was a long frame building constructed in the 1880s following the typical depot designs of the Richmond and Danville Railroad Company, which purchased controlling interest in the Orange & Alexandria in 1886. This frame depot was dismantled in 1904 and replaced by a brick passenger depot. On June 25, 1914 a fire broke out in the baggage room and the depot burned, leaving only the foundation and walls.
Work on the third and present depot was completed in October 1914, in a red-brick Victorian style with a ceramic tile-covered hipped roof. The structure partially incorporated the walls of the burned depot, which measured about 20 feet by 77 feet, and had four new rooms; an office, a ladies’ waiting room, men’s waiting room and a baggage and express room. The “new” structure is about 32 feet longer than the earlier one permitting a modified room arrangement and included the addition of an umbrella shed on the front and east side, the installation of electric lights, and an attractive tile roof.
In the 1990s, the city of Manassas acquired the depot from Norfolk Southern Railway and restored the structure under the direction of The Manassas Museum System. Renovation was completed in 1997 after two and a half years or work by the city of Manassas Department of Historic Resources. Today, the railroad depot is still in use for VRE commuters.