Known as Houston Grand Central Depot, it was on the north side of Washington Avenue between 7th and 8th Streets as portrayed on the 1896 Sanborn Map.The Southern Pacific Railroad and City of Houston redeveloped the site at a cost of about $4.3 million, which entailed stabilizing the bayou and rerouting some local streets.The main part of the complex was built to four stories upon a base clad in pink granite, with the rest of the outer walls covered in Texas Cordova limestone.The passenger waiting room featured arches and flooring, black walnut trimming, and two glass ornaments hanging from the ceiling.The second portrayed a group of Texas pioneers: some 1823 colonists juxtaposed with the empresarios, Stephen F. Austin and Baron von Bastrop.
