Towns and Nature: Flagstaff, AZ: 1889+1926 (Amtrak+Museum)/Santa Fe Depot

Thursday, March 27, 2025

Flagstaff, AZ: 1889+1926 (Amtrak+Museum)/Santa Fe Depot

1926 Depot: (Satellite)

Logging Train: (Satellite)

1889 Depot: (Satellite)

It is so nice when Amtrak figures out how to cooperate with others to fully use, and preserve, an historic depot.

Street View, Jun 2022

Street View, Jul 2023

Original Depot:

Street View, Apr 2023

David Canady posted

In Flagstaff’s early days, the railroad was the lifeline. Steam engines carving tracks through the high desert brought people, goods, and dreams, along with a station that stood as the town’s gateway to the wider world.

Flagstaff’s first train depot rose close to downtown, a modest and functional structure built to meet the demands of a frontier community linking East and West. (Pictured above)

It may no longer serve arriving trains, but it holds its place as one of Flagstaff’s oldest surviving links to the days when the railroad defined the pace of life.

This first permanent depot, often called the 1889 sandstone depot, replaced earlier temporary boxcars and a wooden structure that had been lost in a fire.

Built of red Moenkopi sandstone, it served arrivals and departures for about 27 years, until the newer station replaced it.

Though the exact builder’s name is harder to pin down, the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad was responsible for laying the tracks through Flagstaff in the 1880s, and that original depot became the anchor around which the early town grew.

The early depot, now used by the city for storage, still shows traces of its past in its sturdy red Moenkopi stone, simple lines, and plaque with a short history.

As the years passed, that simple station gave way to something grander, the train station and Flagstaff’s Visitors Center you know today.

In 1925, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a new Tudor Revival style depot that officially opened on January 5, 1926.

This building became the defining face of rail travel in Flagstaff and remains one of the most recognizable landmarks in northern Arizona. Printed on T-shirts, postcards, and pictured in almost every tourist’s selfie.

The timing was no accident. That same year the new depot was built, Route 66 was designated, running through downtown and turning Flagstaff into a true crossroads of travel.

For decades, trains and cars have shared the same rhythm here, both carrying travelers, dreamers, and commerce through the mountain town.

The railroad changed everything.

Before the trains arrived in 1882, Flagstaff was a small settlement surrounded by pine and silence.

The tracks brought lumber, settlers, and goods from faraway cities. When Route 66 later joined the scene, the town expanded again, welcoming the next wave of travelers and opportunity.

Together, the tracks and the highway made Flagstaff a permanent stop on the map, a place where paths cross and stories begin, much like the mountain town still does today.

Today, if you stroll along East Route 66, you can still feel that legacy in the air.

The restored 1926 depot stands proud, shadowing the small, original building to its east. And if you happen to pass by the quieter, older station nearby, take a moment to admire the stonework that helped build a town.

After all, you can visit anytime to appreciate its beauty and history, on your own accord, of course.

Alexander Mitchell shared with the comment: "Flagstaff, Arizona ATSF/Atlantic & Pacific."

I appreciate it when a railfan doesn't skunk a depot with a train.

Photo, Oct 2020

Chris Goepel posted
The handsome 1926-constructed AT&SF depot at Flagstaff, Arizona, as seen in recent days. The building hosts Amtrak, the local chamber of commerce, and a museum (Photo Copyright 2025, Chris Goepel).

David Henderson posted
The Flagstaff, AZ, train station was built in 1926 and located between East-West tracks and U.S. route 66, also East to West. It's a classic design, I believe, and one of my favorites.

Dwight Smith: I just wish the Amtrak Southwest Chief had better on-time performance.

Norma van Houten: Our destination depot to Phoenix a few years ago as the train doesn’t go into PHO. Hotel within walking distance but still dark when having to leave! Cute town !