Lakeland, FL (LAK)

600 East Main Street
Lakeland, FL 33801

Station Ownership

Facility:
City of Lakeland

Parking:
City of Lakeland

Platform(s):
City of Lakeland

Track(s):
CSX

Amtrak Contact

Todd Stennis

Routes Served:

• Silver Star

History

The city of Lakeland built the modern block-and-stucco station on the site of a previous station in the city’s downtown area on the shore of Lake Mirror. The $2 million building opened in February of 1998, featuring soaring arched windows, huge art deco lamps, and high-backed benches that go back to the 1920s.

The Lakeland area was first settled in the 1870s, but only began to develop with the advent of rail lines through central Florida in the next decade. Then, Abraham Munn of Louisville, Kentucky, purchased 80 acres in 1882, in what is now the downtown. He platted the land to develop the town, which was incorporated on January 1, 1885. Several names other than Lakeland were considered, including “Munnville,” “Red Bug,” and “Rome City.”

Lakeland and other Florida cities, participated in the 1920s land boom and bust, re-emerging due to the arrival of the Detroit Tigers in 1934 for spring training. The team still trains in Lakeland, and owns the city’s Florida State League Team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers.

Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright was invited to come to Lakeland in 1938, at the request of Florida Southern College president Frank Spivey to design a “great education temple in Florida.” For 20 years, Wright worked on his “true American campus” creation which called for 18 buildings, only nine of which were ever completed. All of them were done in Wright’s “textile blocks” system, the first use of such a system in Florida. The campus is still the largest single-site collection of Wright buildings in the world, and influenced college architecture in Florida and elsewhere for years to come.

Prior to World War II, British airmen who later fought in the Battle of Britain were trained at Lakeland’s Lodwick field, which became famous for training pilots and bomber crews.

Amtrak provides both ticketing and baggage services at this facility.

Lakeland is served daily by two trains.

ADA Compliance

Federal law requires compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by 2010. The following is a list of items typically required for transportation and public facilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Please check the regulations for guidance or contact us for more information.