Louisville and Nashville (L & N) Railroad Station at 300 Fulton Ave. In 1854, the first railroad to Evansville opened. The state of Indiana had seen a boom in railroad construction, and the Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad was just a small part of that. But it was not until 1885 that Evansville truly started to become a railroad town. That is when the Louisville and Nashville Railroad opened a bridge across the Ohio River that connected Evansville to the L&N burgeoning system in the south. From that point, until it was merged out of existence in 1982, the L&N was a major factor in Evansville growth. The bridge put Evansville on one of the prime Chicago-to-Florida routes in the U.S. It also meant businesses in Evansville were in a prime location to ship their goods all over the country. And when the L&N purchased the former Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad line from Evansville to St. Louis, the opportunities only increased. Evansville became the social and economic center of the Tri-State. In 1902, the L&N opened its new terminal depot on Fulton Avenue. Architecturally inspired by the 11th and 12th Century Romanesque cathedrals of France and Spain, it welcomed visitors to Evansville for almost 70 years. The L&N formed an agreement with the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad to operate joint Florida-to-Chicago passenger trains. Other railroads, including the Southern, New York Central, and Illinois Central came to Evansville as well. By the 1950s, more than 30 passenger and 50 freight trains arrived daily in Evansville. But that did not last. On April 30, 1971, the last L&N passenger train arrived in Evansville. It was running four hours late due to engine problems. Amtrak was in the process of taking over passenger railroading, and the federal agency did not include Evansville on its routes. The L&N sold the depot property in 1974. It sat vacant until February 1985 when -- despite its recognition as an Evansville icon -- the depot was razed.