The original R&D depot had been the departure station for the train carrying Confederacy Jefferson Davis and his cabinet to Danville immediately before Richmond fell to the Union Army during the Civil War.

They hired architect Frank Pierce Milburn to design it and awarded the contract to Frederick "Fritz" Sitterding.

[1] In the railroad journal, The Railway Surgeon, an intricate description is given of the depot: "The building will be of granite and gray pressed brick, with a green slate roof.

Ticket offices will be located at the right of the entrance, and at the north end of the waiting room and adjoining the vestibule will be situated the ladies' parlor.

The reason for the demolishment of the 14th Street Passenger depot was that the Southern Railway needed the additional space for freight.