Almost. The original Raleigh Union Passenger Depot was built around 1847. It was situated on the newly built North Carolina Railroad and operated by its lessee, the Richmond & Danville. The Raleigh and Gaston had their freight and operations location north of downtown, and they extended track around the city to join with that first jointly operated structure.
It sustained damage when set afire in April 1865 by retreating Confederate troops in advance of the Union army arrival into Raleigh.
The damage was quickly repaired, but the structure had proven to be inadequate to handle the growing passenger volume. Thus, Raleigh Union Depot was constructed on Martin Street by 1890.
The old station did serve freight functions, but was later demolished by the 1910’s
Included is a Sanborn map showing the exact location of that depot, standing at Cabarrus Street. And, Albert Barden captured it in the background when photographing the Southern Railway Freight Depot.
But, it does seem fitting that the remnants of that original station building is sitting where the new projects are going to happen
