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The Texas & Pacific Railway passenger terminal building opened in 1931, replacing an earlier station that burned in 1904. The terminal facilities included the larger Texas & Pacific Warehouse, which also was completed in 1931 one block to the west. Located between the two, sits the beautiful neo-classical architecture of the U.S. Post Office building. The 12-story railway station and office building included a lavish, opulent lobby with marble floors, metal-inlaid panel ceilings, and nickel and brass fixtures with brass, glass, plaster, and marble embellishments. The eight-story warehouse is a muted version, featuring inlaid panels of blue tile, ornamental brickwork, and polychrome brick. Both buildings having incorporated the zigzags and chevrons distinctive of the Zigzag Moderne style elements present in the early Art Deco period.
With passenger travel declining in the 1930's, the railroad vacated the terminal in 1967 when passenger service in Fort Worth ended. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, preservationists saved the old T & P Terminal in the 1980s. The passenger area of the station had remained virtually untouched and it was restored to its former beauty in 1999. With extension of the Trinity Railway Express commuter service from Dallas into Fort Worth, passenger service resumed at the T & P station on December 3, 2001. Condominiums became available in the Depot building in 2006 and the warehouse remains vacant.
The Texas and Pacific enjoys the distinction of being the only railroad chartered by an act of Congress. Shortly after receiving its charter in 1871 to build a southern transcontinental route to San Diego. The first lines opened west from Texarkana to Dallas in 1873. However, T & P never reached San Diego, having only reached to Sierra Blanca east of E1 Paso where it met with the Southern Pacific in 1881. The Missouri Pacific Railroad gained majority ownership 1928 but allowed it to continue operation until they merged in 1976.
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