College Station Depot 1900

The College Station train depot is one of the most important buildings in the history of the city of College Station and Texas A&M University. When train travel was the main mode of transportation, it was the gateway to and from the small community isolated on the Texas prairie, and eventually it became the namesake of the city of College Station in 1938 when the city became incorporated. The original train depot was a very small Victorian building built in 1883. It was replaced by the one depicted in this painting in 1900 when Southern Pacific took over the Houston and Texas Central Train Line. Benjamin created this watercolor painting to depict the depot in the 1920's in a collage with the entrance way sign at the depot expressing the size of Texas A&M. Vehicular traffic slowly replaced train travel, and by 1954 the depot was no longer in use. It was razed overnight in 1966 to make room for the expansion of Wellborn Road.

After years of in-depth research and with his degree in Architecture from Texas A&M, Benjamin set out to design an exact replica of the 1900 depot as his gallery and to promote the arts in the community. This was a very ambitious and challenging feat for an artist with a small gallery. He prevailed, and the depot was dedicated on October 2, 2001 by Texas Governor Rick Perry. This painting was the "Coming Soon" sign and official rendering for Benjamin's architectural plans. This fine art print marks that moment in history. There are two edition types, a larger limited edition of 2001 prints and a smaller open edition size. This is a great print for history and train lovers, and to show a positive affiliation with the community and University.