Central of Georgia Railroad Office Building and Up Freight Warehouse (former) (Savannah, Georgia)

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This building is the oldest surviving railroad office building in the United States and one of the oldest buildings in the complex. It was constructed between 1854 and 1856 as the headquarters office building for Georgia’s early railroad — the 1833 Central Rail Road and Banking Company, later called the Central of Georgia Railway. The building predates the passenger station (now the Savannah Visitors Information Center and History Museum) which was completed after the Civil War, as well as other office and functional structures in the complex. In 1855, apart from the office building, only the depot (the Up Freight Warehouse) attached to the rear, its adjacent wall, and the machine and repair shops were standing. The depot behind the office building at that time served both freight and passenger functions and was where ex-President Millard Fillmore was ceremoniously welcomed in 1854.
Regarded as a remarkable design achievement by contemporaries, the complex was planned by William M. Wadley around 1850 and cost more than $500,000. In 1855, a writer for the national journal Colburn’s Railroad Advocate described it as "the most complete and elegant railroad station in the country (besides its being also one of the largest) …" The transportation and general offices of the railroad were described as having a front façade that was "large and handsomely finished in the Roman Doric style of architecture."
For more than 130 years, the building served as a railroad office building, the longest such continuous use in the country. In addition to the Central Railroad, the depot was also used by other early railroads, including the Charleston and Savannah Railroad, from 1855. From 1855 to 1991, the building was owned or leased by railroads, most recently by Norfolk Southern.