Hammond Train Depot/Chamber Offices

The Hammond Chamber of Commerce received a donation for the historic railroad station. The depot was built in 1912. The architects recommended complete historic restoration of the exterior facade and adaptive reuse of the interiors. The historic 1912 brick structure consists of 3 components separated by breezeways. The south breezeway is to house the Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court satellite office, the middle component will house the Chamber of Commerce offices and meeting room, and the north component will house the Amtrak Station. The original building program included the restaurant, Beanery, in the south component. The central component contained the passenger rail waiting room, ticket booth, control tower, restrooms, colored waiting area and restrooms.The north component contained the freight depot. The historic structure is the symbol of Hammond, Louisiana. The building was designed by Illinois GulfCentral Railroad in-house architects in Chicago. Through the use of historic photographs and the actual construction documents, the architects were able to restore the original exterior design. The adaptive reuse of the central component changed the waiting room for the passenger train to the board/meeting room for the Chamber of Commerce, the restrooms were renovated in their location, the ticket booth and control tower were renovated into a meeting room, the colored waiting room, bathrooms and storage areas were converted into the chamber offices. The northern component which houses the original freight depot has been altered the most throughout the years. A new Amtrak ticket office, waiting, restroom and luggage storage were added into the interior.