The city of Huntsville is seeking the community’s help in deciding the future of the historic train depot and the surrounding 7-acre property downtown.

“It is a special place,” Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said during a press conference on Tuesday. “It is a protected place. It deserves to be seen and deserves to be enjoyed by the public. It is a great spot and a great asset to our community.”

The city is asking residents to participate in an online survey and participate in two public meetings at the Roundhouse on the depot grounds. The meetings are July 15, from 5-7 p.m., and July 16, at 10 a.m.

“This is a rare opportunity to reimagine one of Huntsville’s most iconic and historic sites,” Battle said. “We want the community’s ideas on how we can celebrate its heritage while creating a vibrant public space that serves our residents and visitors alike.”

Completed in 1860, the Huntsville Depot is the oldest surviving railroad depot in Alabama and one of the oldest in the United States. Located on the Norfolk Southern Railway line, the depot is listed on both the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage and the National Register of Historic Places.

A historical marker was installed outside the depot in 1971, commemorating its storied past when Union soldiers captured it in 1862 and severed a critical east-west Confederate railroad. Confederate prisoners were held at the site. Newcomers to Huntsville during its initial boomtown status in the 1950s, including Wernher von Braun, first arrived at the depot as well.

The depot building, located in the northwest corner of the site at 320 Church St. NW, is a three-story brick structure with 10,500 square feet and most recently served as a railroad museum.

Battle said Huntsville’s Manager of Urban and Long-range Planning Dennis Madsen and City Preservationist Katie Stamps are leading the master-planning process for the depot and surrounding property.

“We want to hear from the community about what you want to see on this site,” Battle said. “What are your ideas? Do you envision parks, events, educational spaces? Do you think of having a farmer’s market down here every Saturday or maybe turning part of it into a wellness, recreation area?”

Battle insisted the city is starting with a “blank page” in coming up with ideas for the site. He also said the city couldn’t put a price tag on plans until the city knew what it was looking at.

“Lots of things can happen on these seven acres down here,” he said. “It needs to be something everybody gets to weigh in on.”

Madsen added there was “a lot of opportunity on this site.”

“When you look all around downtown and see how much growth is happening downtown,” he said, “we have new apartments. We have new offices that have been built or are being built. We even have a new transit center just a few blocks away from here. There is a lot of activity happening around this site that this site can contribute to.”

Madsen said the site can be a hub of greenway and recreation activities.

The depot will join a growing list of historic sites in the city that have been reimagined including the Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment Center, Campus 805, and the Stovehouse entertainment venue.

The public survey is open through July 14 at HuntsvilleAL.gov/depot.