Walker & Gillette designed the depot in harmony with the other structures in Venice, adopting a Mediterranean Revival style then highly popular in Florida due to its warm climate and Spanish heritage.

The spare, unornamented exterior yellow stucco surfaces, in combination with the simple arched and blocky volumes gently-sloping red tile roofs seen in the depot building are the hallmarks of this style.

As Venice was a planned city, the large size of the depot can probably be explained by its founders' hopes that it would grow to the point where it would require such a grand reception for prodigious rail service.

[5] In 1960s, when passenger rail traffic had become moribund across the US, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus used it for shipping their equipment and operations around the country once they moved to Venice in 1960.

The last passenger train crew operating from Venice to Tampa on April 30, 1971 consisted of Frank Riddle, Engineer; James Marshall, Conductor; John Scott, Fireman and (unknown), Baggage Master.

In 1998, Sarasota County acquired the building, which is the last extant railroad depot in its jurisdiction, and local government undertook restoration of the structure, including archaeological excavations.

The SAL tracks have largely been removed and the station now houses the Venice Area Historical Society Museum, along with event space that can be privately rented.

A former red Seaboard Air Line freight car, now restored and used as offices for the Historical Society, stands beyond the station's north end adjacent to a large freestanding wooden deck.