GM & O Railroad Main Terminal
Mobile, AL
History – The Gulf Mobile & Ohio railroad constructed its corporate headquarters and home terminal in Mobile, Alabama in 1907. The building was designed by P. Thorton Mayre in the Mission Revival style. After the discontinuation of passenger service in the 1950s, the building became home to the GM&O railroad’s offices. In 1975, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The railroad discontinued use of the building in 1986 and it was left to deteriorate over the next ten years until the Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation placed it on their list of “Places in Peril.” In 1996 and action was taken and five years later, in 2001, the Lathan Company was chosen for the team to restore the historic train station.
​Lathan's Contributions:
The GM&O building is one of the South’s finest examples of turn of the century architecture blending mission revival and Gothic elements with limestone gargoyles and terracotta masonry. The clay tile roof and portions of the exterior masonry finishes were restored by Lathan in 2001. The roof tiles were produced by Ludowici Tile Company in their old Georgia plant. The Lathan Company located salvage tiles to match the original even though Ludowici discontinued the product in 1932. The exterior features include carved stone gaines pedestals, carved limestone entablatures, fenestrations featuring barley sugar column, and the central archyway adapts a rococo baroque style of stone decoration.
