Plano Station, Texas Electric Railway
Also known as: The Interurban Museum
Why it's listed
Plano's interurban station, at 901 East 15th Street, was built in 1907-08 as a combined passenger depot, freight stop and electrical substation for the Texas Traction Company, later part of the Texas Electric Railway. Fred A. Jones Company of Dallas designed and built it, with Stone and Webster of Boston as consulting engineers. The brick and wood building has a brick tower and a substation room that once held a rotary converter changing high-voltage alternating current into direct current for the cars. After electric service ended on December 31, 1948, the building served as a sign shop and a repair business before the City of Plano acquired it and restored it. Beside it stands Car 360, built in 1911 and converted in 1914 to a rail post office car, the last of its kind from the line. Interurban lines spurred regional trade and growth around Dallas, and this station is one of the few survivors, retaining unusual integrity. It now operates as a museum.
Significance in brief: The nomination argues significance under Criterion A in the area of Transportation at the local level. Interurban lines radiating from Dallas drove trade growth and prosperity in surrounding towns. The Plano station is one of a handful of surviving stations and is described as having the most architectural and historic integrity. Car 360 is the last remaining Texas Electric rail post office car.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 05000856, listed August 10, 2005. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 901 E 15th St., Plano |
|---|---|
| County | Collin County |
| Listed | August 10, 2005 |
| Reference number | 05000856 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1908-1948 |
| Architect / builder | Fred A. Jones Company, Dallas; Stone and Webster, Boston, consulting engineers. |
| Architectural style | Mission Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Restored and operated as the Interurban Museum, owned by the City of Plano and run by the Plano Conservancy since 2000. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 33.03776, -99.91235 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 05000856.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q14711250
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.