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(rshsdepot) Hattiesburg, MS

Gala Celebration and Amtrak Equipment Display to Open Restored Hattiesburg 
Depot

http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Amtrak/am2Copy/News_Release_Page&c=am2Copy&cid=1176405278781

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News Release 
National Railroad Passenger Corporation
60 Massachusetts Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20002
www.amtrak.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATK-07-049

Contact:
Amtrak, Marc Magliari (312) 880-5390
City of Hattiesburg, John H. Brown (601) 545-4503

April 19, 2007  
Gala Celebration and Amtrak Equipment Display to Open Restored Hattiesburg
Depot 

Amtrak Crescent passengers enjoy $10 million in improvements  
HATTIESBURG, Miss. . Long known as The Hub City, Hattiesburg now has an
Intermodal Transportation Facility at 308 Newman Street that will enable
passengers on daily Amtrak Crescent trains to enjoy visiting the Pine Belt
community of more than 130,000 and to connect with local transit.

In order to celebrate the official opening of the depot this weekend, a
black-tie Grand Gala will be held at the station this Friday night and a
ribbon-cutting will be staged this Saturday afternoon. Amtrak will display
railcars and a locomotive at the station during the gala on Friday night and
following the ribbon-cutting at 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 this Saturday evening.

Hattiesburg is served twice daily by the Amtrak Crescent, with afternoon
departures of Train 19 to New Orleans at 4:19 p.m. and morning departures of
Train 20 to Birmingham, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and New York at 9:47 a.m.
Last year, 8616 tickets were sold by Amtrak to or from Hattiesburg, a figure
that is sure to increase with the completion of this project.

The first $25,000 of the $10 million renovation and restoration came as seed
money from the former Great American Station Foundation, a nationwide effort
recently reconstituted by Amtrak.

.Stations are more than just a place to catch a train,. said Alex Kummant,
Amtrak President and CEO.

.Many stations have deep historical and cultural roots in their communities. A
growing number have started new lives as community centers, intermodal
transportation centers, commercial businesses and museums . many while
continuing to serve rail passengers.

.Further down the road, we also hope to establish a small matching fund to
help other communities get started in the good work of improving their station
program,. Kummant added, pointing out the Hattiesburg story will soon be
featured on the greatamericanstations.com website sponsored by Amtrak.

.The Hattiesburg Train Depot is the key to understanding the city.s past and
is the key component of Hattiesburg.s future,. said Mayor Johnny L. DuPree,
Ph.D.

Depot History

Early in 1998, the City of Hattiesburg began negotiating with officials of the
Norfolk Southern Railroad to purchase the Hattiesburg Depot, a 14,000-square
foot Italian Renaissance structure built in 1910. The transfer of the depot
and surrounding land to the City of Hattiesburg was completed in summer 2000.

One of the larger and more elaborate surviving passenger depots in
Mississippi, the building exhibits a high level of architectural
sophistication. The depot has been continuously active since its construction,
now serving Amtrak and Norfolk Southern rail traffic, and will be the primary
transfer point for Hub City Transit.

The depot is located in Newman-Buschman Railroad Historic District, the city.s
oldest neighborhood and once the site of Newman Lumber Company. The depot site
links Newman-Buschman, a locally designated historic district, with Hub City
Historic District . Downtown and Hattiesburg Historic Neighborhood District.

The Hattiesburg depot is considered by some music scholars to be the historic
birthplace of rock and roll music. The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of
Rock and Roll reports Hattiesburg was a recording location of Blind Roosevelt
Graves and his brother, Uaroy Graves, who, along with piano player Cooney
Vaughn, recorded two songs in 1936 that "featured fully formed rock & roll
guitar riffs and a stomping rock & roll beat.. The Graves Brothers and Vaughn
. performing as the Mississippi Jook Band . recorded the songs .Barbecue Bust.
and .Dangerous Woman,. reportedly at the station.

In addition to local matching funds, other monies for the project came through
the State of Mississippi/Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department
of Transportation/Federal Transit Administration, along with other federal
funds through Mississippi.s Congressional delegation.

About Amtrak

Amtrak provides intercity passenger rail services to more than 500
destinations in 46 states on a 21,000-mile route system. For schedules, fares
and information, passengers may call 800-USA-RAIL or visit Amtrak.com.


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railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org
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