Rails of the past

Magnet #1012 - Salisbury Station

My other magnet from Critters, part of my Small Business Saturday in Salisbury. I couldn't resist getting two magnets, especially since I feel like I've come through here so many times just this year - and I have the Amtrak Guest Rewards points to prove it!

It's another reason to love the train - rather than having to drive the hour south to Charlotte or north to Greensboro for the airports, my parents can drive the eight miles into town to pick-up/drop me off at the Salisbury Station.

It's a really cool mission-style station, designed in the early 1900s by prolific NC architect Frank Milburn, one of many of his stations for Southern States Railway. (For those in the know, he's also the guy who designed what must be the tallest building in downtown - the seven- or eight-story Grubb-Wallace Building, up on the square.)

But, the shame of it is, you never really notice the station's facade if you're driving right in front of it. It sits so close to the street, that you can't enjoy it, so you have to look at the building from afar.

It's terrific that the NCDOT and Salisbury have managed to keep the building from demolition, by maintaining it as the Amtrak station, but also as office and events space. It even has its own place in history at the Smithsonian!

Truly one of the best places to feel like you're stepping back in time. Much like Salisbury.