Lafayette Train Depot

The Lafayette Train Depot is an iconic, early 20th century, Craftsman style building, that was replicated throughout the United States, including Lafayette. The Craftsman style was a standard style that was used for depot buildings across the nation at that time. It was a national way-finding concept, and was selected in part, because the design was efficient and inexpensive to build. The building’s historical significance is not only related to its architecture, but also because of the development changes that happened in Lafayette’s downtown due to the location of the depot. Commercial activity in Downtown Lafayette increased significantly once the rail line was completed in 1898. The resulting commercial downtown development shifted northward toward the depot and away from the former center, which was at Lafayette’s Parish Courthouse square. The new railroad stop required new housing and several new commercial buildings needed to support rail freight businesses. In 1998, after a fire almost destroyed the depot, the building was fully restored and has become part of the Rosa Parks Transportation Center, Lafayette’s multi-modal transportation building complex.