PETERSBURG, Va. β It's been more than a decade in the making and cost more than $2 million, but a historic building in Old Towne Petersburg is now open as the city's new visitor center.
When visitors to the City of Petersburg are looking for information, this is where they will go β and where they will walk into history.
"They're about to walk up through these doors, of the oldest train station in Virginia," said Ed Betts with the Petersburg Visitors Center.
The building was originally constructed in 1854 and survived Union Army shelling during the Civil War. However, it was the Aug. 6, 1993 tornado that did the most damage.
The entire east wing was lost, the cupola to the main building was destroyed, and the oldest train station in Virginia would basically sit empty for years.
After years of discussions and trying to find funding, CBS 6 cameras were there when U.S. Senator Tim Kaine toured the construction process in August 2023. Now, 171 years after the doors first opened, the city's new visitor center is open for business.
Just across the street, the Croaker's Spot restaurant expects the visitor center to boost business.
"I think the visitor's center is going to be great, it's right here beside us. We're going to get more business and a chance for people to taste our delicious food," said Norman Cooley with the Croaker's Spot Restaurant.
The city expects the visitor center to be very busy in 2026 with the upcoming Live Casino Resort.
"With what's going on with Live Casino Resort, we're expecting over 100,000 visitors a month to come to Petersburg, so we want them to be able to come to a cool place," said Mayor Sam Parham.
At the height of this rail station being open, Petersburg had five railroads coming into it and supplied the vast majority of Central Virginia. Now the goal is to have this historic railroad station bring customers to the doorsteps of area businesses.
The visitors center is open Thursday through Sunday, with new and expanded hours coming after the new year.
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