Another Lunch at the Helena Depot

Eating a good meal in the midst of some history is always fun. Recently Dianne and I had lunch at The Depot Deli & Grill in Helena. We've eaten there several times and always enjoyed it, and this lunch was no exception. Since The Depot is an historic location, and Helena has some interesting history, I thought I would post a little bit about both. 

Helena began as a community known as Cove in the mid-1840's and then renamed Hillsboro in 1856 when a rolling mill was built in the area. That mill provided arms for Confederate forces during the Civil War. Railroads pushed into the area during the Civil War and Reconstruction, and the town was renamed again after an engineer's sweetheart. 

The town boomed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Steel mills, a cotton gin, and coal mines all contributed to the growth that also included hotels and many stores and residences. Helena survived a devastating fire in 1895, but in 1920 decline began. The coal mines closed and the steel mill moved. The Great Depression hit hard and in 1933 a tornado killed 14 people and destroyed over 100 homes. Helena remained a small community in rural Shelby County until late in the 20th century, when suburban growth south of Birmingham exploded.

Several historical structures remain, and the entire downtown, known as Old Town Helena, is a pleasant place with various shops and restaurants. Read some more below the photos.  

You can find many historical photos of Helena in a book by Ken Penhale and Martin Everse, Helena, Alabama [Images of America Series, Arcadia Press, 1998]. 


UPDATE 19 April 2019

You can read an article about the 20th anniversary of the restaurant here.

The Depot is a modest looking place, but culinary delights can be found within.

There is a definite railroad theme to the place.

As this large sign near the entrance notes, the Depot building has been moved twice. The second move brought it to its current location in 1999, when the eatery opened. This structure was the railroad depot and freight house from 1872 until 1905.

The interior retains the look and feel of a waiting room from another time. Part of the decor includes dollar bills; you can see many of them above the counter.

Hey, kids! Know what this item is? Many great works of literature were pounded out on similar machines. Lots of other stuff, too.

Here we have an old cash register and various trinkets and an old photo.

This caboose greets you from across the street as you enter and leave the Depot. Railroads lost some of their magic when they stopped using these. 

There are some pleasant views from the patio.

This plaque is just outside the Depot and across the street next to the caboose.

Just down the road from the Depot is the Penhale Museum, devoted to history of the area. The Museum, which celebrated its fifth anniversary last year, is open most Saturdays, but call ahead to make sure. 

Some History in Tuscaloosa, Alberta & Northport

In late August my wife Dianne, daughter Becca Leon and I spent a morning taking in some historic places in Tuscaloosa, Alberta and Northport. We spent most of our time at Capitol Park in Tuscaloosa, site of the capitol from 1826 until 1846 when Montgomery became the current seat of state government. The building then became the Alabama Central Female College and burned in 1923. The ruins provide a fascinating lesson in state history.

Then we visited the Old Tavern next to Capitol Park,  the railroad depot in Northport and the Moon Winx Lodge in Alberta. 

I've put further comments on some of these photos below.

Each governor from the period has his own plaque at the site.

The ruins that remain are impressive and many small decorative touches have survived.

Four plaques tell us what the building looked like inside and out.

Here Dianne and I are posing in an arched doorway.

Daughter Becca Leon and her mom did some posing too.

We had hoped to see inside the Old Tavern now adjacent to Capitol Park but they were closed.

After Capitol Park we headed to Northport's historic train depot, unfortunately also closed.

Our final history stop of the day was the legendary Moon Winx Lodge in Alberta. The lodge is not currently open, but the sign remains in all its glory. The Moon Winx opened as the Moon Winx Motor Court in the 1920s. A restaurant on the property was known as The Barn and the Lamplighter. The motel was expanded in 1950 and again in 1954. 

Unfortunately, Glenn House, the artist who designed that wonderful sign, died recently. His sign was installed in 1957.  Dianne and I both enjoyed his letterpress printing class while we were in library school at UA in the early 1980s. Druid City Brewing in Tuscaloosa uses the image in its logo.

Someone thinks he's taking a clever selfie!

Pelham Railroad Depot Then and Now

Perhaps the oldest structure in Pelham is the former train depot now located in Pelham City Park along with the baseball and softball diamonds, football field, tennis courts, picnic areas and walking trail. The depot stood by the tracks behind Pelham City Hall from the early 1900s until it was moved to the park in 1988 and restored. Owner CSX Transportation donated the building to the city. An open house for the refurbished structure was held on May 7, 1989. The project was part of the statewide Alabama Reunion effort to promote heritage and economic development.

For many years the building housed the area chamber of commerce office. In 2005 the Greater Shelby Chamber moved its office to the Shelby County Services Building. After another renovation, the city’s Park and Recreation Department moved into the former depot. The structure was repainted olive and khaki which were believed to be its original colors.

The depot is included on the “Surviving Depots in Alabama” web page, which is part of the AlabamaRailPics.com site. There the building is identified as a “former ACL Depot.” By 1986 the Atlantic Coast Line railroad and its successor were owned by CSX.

Pelham’s railroad service predates the depot. An 1887 “Railroad and County Map of Alabama” engraved for Grant’s Business Atlas shows the town on a railroad line from Birmingham to Montgomery. At that time the route belonged to the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, which later became part of the ACL system. A good history is Wayne Cline’s Alabama Railroads published in 1997.

Note: A version of this post was published in the Pelham
City News Holiday 2013 issue.

This painting by local artist Carl B. Salter [1919-2005] shows the Pelham Depot as it looked in its original location. 

This biographical directory of some Alabama artists was published in 1989.