The Active Historian

Hey, Friend! Welcome back to another post. Today, I want to show you the historic Santa Fe Depot in Oklahoma City. Let’s get started!

History

The Santa Fe was allocated land during the platting of Oklahoma City in 1890. The current building is actually the third Santa Fe Depot. Each building was made larger to accommodate more business.

This depot was built from 1932-1934 for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway (simply called, the “Santa Fe”). This depot supported both passengers and freight. The estimated construction cost was $500,000.

The depot was built in an Art Deco style. The exterior is made of Cordova cream limestone cut into geometric designs.

Passengers were using the Santa Fe Depot by September 1934. There was a formal dedication ceremony on November 8.

Amtrak took over the railway in 1971. Then it was discontinued in 1979 which caused the building to become dormant and fall into disrepair.

In 1988, Jim Brewer – a Bricktown developer – purchased the building for $374,667. Brewer was approached by officials in 1999 who wanted to use the station as an endpoint for the Heartland Flyer (the train between Oklahoma City and Fort Worth, Texas). This route is 206 miles.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) invested $2 million through the Transportation Equity Act to make the station accessible for travel. Much of the interior was renovated and missing pieces were replaced. In 2007, an additional $3.1 million was spent on renovations.

In 2015, the Santa Fe Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Oklahoma City purchased the Santa Fe Depot before the 2017 renovation project. The Santa Fe Depot in Oklahoma City was to serve as an intermodal center for OKC. Additionally, more of the interior and exterior were restored to their historic condition.

Today, the Heartland Flyer travels from OKC to Fort Worth making stops in Norman, Purcell, Pauls Valley, Ardmore, and Gainesville. The summer of 2026 might possibly be the last operational time for the train. The Texas Legislature did not provide funding for the train and it’s currently set to run out of funding on August 31, 2026.

Visit

100 South E.K. Gaylord Blvd.

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Sources

Secondary Sources

Websites

“Oklahoma City, OK (OKC).” The Great American Stations. Amtrak.

“Santa Fe Depot – Bricktown Station.” Visit Oklahoma City.

Dylan Duke & Alexis Jones. “Amtrak will discontinue Texas-Oklahoma route this summer.” KERA News. NPR for North Texas. May 1, 2026.