Memphis ยท South Main Arts District
The Central Station Memphis
The Illinois Central's 1914 Grand Central Station, still an Amtrak stop, with the 33-foot-ceilinged Grand Hall now a ballroom.
- Built
- 1914Built by the Illinois Central Railroad as Grand Central Station; opened October 4, 1914. Still an active Amtrak station.
- Style
- Neoclassical (Roman Doric colonnade)
- Type
- Boutique hotel
- Rooms
- 123
- Area
- South Main Arts District
- Credentials
- Inside a National Register historic district
The story
The Illinois Central Railroad built Grand Central Station for $1.5 million on the site of the earlier Calhoun Street Station and opened it on October 4, 1914, with a three-story Bedford stone colonnade below five floors of railroad offices; it was renamed Central Station in 1944. At its height it handled more than 50 arrivals and departures a day, but by 1971 Amtrak was the only rail tenant and the building decayed. The Memphis Area Transit Authority led a $20 million renovation in 1995, and the hotel now occupies the building while Amtrak’s City of New Orleans and the Main Street trolley still stop there; the 1914 Grand Hall with its 33-foot ceilings is now a ballroom.
Good to know
- Breakfast: available
- Parking: on-site paid
- Address: 545 South Main Street, Memphis, TN 38103
Things to do
Tours nearby
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Sources (2)
Last verified October 2026. Details change; confirm with the inn before you book.