The Greyhound Bus Terminal, also known as the Evansville Greyhound Station or Greyhound Bus Depot, is a historic former intercity bus station in Downtown Evansville, Indiana. Located at the corner of Third and Sycamore streets, the distinctive Streamline Moderne building served generations of travelers before being restored and converted into a restaurant.
Today, the former terminal is home to BRU Burger Bar, making the building one of Evansville’s most prominent examples of adaptive reuse — the preservation of a historic structure by giving it a new purpose.
History
The Greyhound terminal was constructed during the late 1930s and opened for service in 1939, during an era when intercity bus transportation was rapidly expanding across the United States.
The location had an unusual history even before Greyhound arrived. Construction had begun on the site in the 1920s for the proposed Cadick Theatre, but the theater project was never completed. The partially developed site remained unused for years before it was selected for the new bus terminal.
Construction of the Greyhound station began in 1938, incorporating the curved footprint of the earlier development into the design of the new building.
The station was designed in the Streamline Moderne style, a branch of Art Deco architecture that emphasized curved surfaces, horizontal lines, smooth finishes, glass, steel, and imagery associated with speed and modern transportation.
The building’s design is associated with architect William S. Arrasmith, whose Louisville architectural firm designed numerous Greyhound stations across the United States. Arrasmith became particularly well known for helping create Greyhound’s recognizable architectural identity during the golden age of American bus travel.
The Evansville terminal reportedly cost approximately $150,000 to construct — a substantial investment at the time.
Architecture
The Greyhound Terminal became one of Downtown Evansville’s most recognizable buildings.
Its design includes rounded corners, horizontal lines, large windows, porcelain-enamel exterior panels, and a prominent vertical sign tower. Perhaps its most memorable feature is the classic Greyhound running-dog sign, which became a familiar sight to generations of Evansville residents and travelers.
The building’s streamlined appearance reflected the optimism surrounding transportation during the 1930s. Architecture of this type was intended to suggest movement and speed even when the building itself was standing still.
Greyhound used similar architectural ideas at terminals throughout the country, making its stations immediately recognizable to travelers.
Evansville’s surviving station is considered an important example of this period of American transportation architecture.
The Bus Station Era
For much of the 20th century, the terminal served as one of Evansville’s major gateways to the outside world.
Before widespread automobile ownership and inexpensive commercial air travel, intercity buses provided an important transportation network connecting Evansville with cities throughout Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, and the rest of the country.
The terminal operated 24 hours a day during much of its early history.
Thousands of passengers passed through the building over the decades. Soldiers, students, families, business travelers, tourists, and Evansville residents used the station to arrive in or depart from the city.
The terminal included passenger waiting areas and other amenities associated with large Greyhound stations of the period.
Like many transportation facilities in the United States, the terminal also existed during the era of racial segregation. Historical architectural research indicates that the Evansville station contained a combination of integrated and segregated spaces before federal action ended segregation in interstate transportation facilities in the early 1960s.
National Register of Historic Places
Recognition of the building’s architectural significance came while it was still operating as a bus terminal.
The Greyhound Bus Terminal was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 1, 1979.
Its inclusion recognized the station as an important surviving example of Streamline Moderne transportation architecture and helped establish the building as one of Evansville’s significant historic structures.
Changes and Decline
As automobile ownership increased and interstate highways expanded, long-distance bus travel became less central to everyday American transportation.
The Evansville station nevertheless continued operating for decades.
A major remodeling in 1988 substantially changed the interior. Portions of the original waiting area were divided, new restrooms were installed, and a suspended ceiling concealed parts of the original high-ceilinged interior.
Over time, the building’s condition deteriorated.
Greyhound eventually relocated its Evansville operations to the city’s transportation facility at Sixth and Vine streets. The historic Third and Sycamore terminal ceased functioning as Evansville’s Greyhound station in the 2000s, with Greyhound operations moving from the building by 2007.
The once-busy station was left without its longtime purpose.
Threat of Demolition and Redevelopment
The future of the building became uncertain after Greyhound left.
In 2008, the former station and surrounding property were discussed during planning for a new Downtown arena to replace Roberts Municipal Stadium.
Ultimately, Evansville officials selected another Downtown location for what became the Ford Center, allowing the Greyhound building to remain standing.
Attention increasingly shifted toward finding a way to preserve and reuse the historic terminal.
The City of Evansville eventually transferred the vacant building to Indiana Landmarks in 2013 with the expectation that the organization would restore the structure and return it to productive use.
Restoration
Indiana Landmarks undertook an extensive restoration of the former station during 2014 and 2015.
The project sought to reverse decades of alterations and deterioration while restoring the building’s distinctive historic appearance.
Work included restoration of the building’s porcelain-enamel exterior panels and steel windows, masonry repairs, roof work, installation of new utilities, and restoration of its historic signage.
One of the most visible parts of the project was the return of the building’s distinctive Greyhound appearance.
The original-style color scheme was restored, along with the illuminated signage and famous running greyhound atop the sign tower.
A lost Greyhound-logo window also was reconstructed.
The restoration once again made the building look much more like the transportation landmark Evansville residents remembered from earlier decades.
Environmental Cleanup
Redevelopment also required addressing environmental problems associated with the site’s history.
The former terminal had included facilities connected with fueling buses, and underground gasoline storage tanks had existed on the property.
Environmental investigation and cleanup work included the removal of underground tanks, petroleum-affected water, and contaminated soil.
More than 900 tons of affected soil were excavated during remediation work, and state environmental officials ultimately issued a determination allowing redevelopment of the property.
The cleanup was an important step toward making long-term reuse of the historic station possible.
BRU Burger Bar
After restoration of the exterior, Indiana Landmarks sought a tenant capable of bringing regular activity back into the historic building.
The solution was a restaurant.
Cunningham Restaurant Group selected the former station for an Evansville location of its BRU Burger Bar concept.
The interior was renovated for restaurant use while maintaining references to the building’s transportation history. Areas once occupied by passengers and terminal operations became dining, kitchen, restroom, and bar spaces.
Outside, areas where buses once arrived and departed were transformed in part into outdoor restaurant seating.
Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, BRU Burger Bar opened to the public on November 21, 2016.
The restaurant specializes in burgers and American-style food and quickly turned the former transportation terminal back into an active Downtown gathering place.
Rather than passengers waiting for buses, the building now regularly fills with restaurant customers.
The conversion has been cited as a successful example of adaptive reuse, in which a historic building is preserved by finding a modern function for it rather than demolishing it or attempting to maintain it solely as a museum.
In 2021, Indiana Landmarks transferred ownership of the restored former Greyhound terminal to Cunningham Restaurant Group, completing a preservation effort that had taken years to accomplish.
Legacy
The former Greyhound Bus Terminal remains one of Downtown Evansville’s most recognizable historic structures.
Its significance extends beyond its architecture. For much of the 20th century, the station represented arrival and departure for generations of people traveling through Evansville.
Its preservation also represents an important chapter in the city’s modern historic-preservation movement.
At several points after Greyhound left, the future of the property was uncertain. Instead of being demolished, however, the building was restored and incorporated into the redevelopment of Downtown Evansville.
The survival of its curved Streamline Moderne exterior, historic color scheme, neon signage, and running Greyhound symbol allows the building’s original identity to remain readily apparent despite its completely different modern use.
Today, someone can eat inside BRU Burger Bar while standing in essentially the same location where travelers once waited to board buses bound for destinations across the United States.
The Greyhound Bus Terminal therefore serves as both a reminder of an earlier era of American transportation and an example of how Evansville’s historic architecture can be preserved while remaining part of the everyday life of the city.
Quick Facts
Name: Greyhound Bus Terminal
Also known as: Evansville Greyhound Station, Greyhound Bus Depot
Location: Third and Sycamore streets, Downtown Evansville
Historic address: 102 N.W. Third Street
Current restaurant address: 222 Sycamore Street
Built: 1938–1939
Opened: 1939
Architectural style: Streamline Moderne / Art Moderne
Architect: William S. Arrasmith and associated architectural firms
Historic use: Intercity bus terminal
Greyhound operations ended: 2000s
National Register of Historic Places: October 1, 1979
Restored: 2014–2015
BRU Burger Bar opened: November 21, 2016
Current use: Restaurant
Current occupant: BRU Burger Bar
Location: Downtown Evansville, Indiana