This is a typical Mission Revival, buff brick, one-story rail facility that stands as the last vestige of historic railroad architecture in Corpus Christi. Originally opened as part of the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railroad before it was purchased by the Missouri Pacific, it was one of four rail lines that ensured the viability of the port and brought in visitors to Corpus Christi, thus establishing tourism as one of the city's economic pillars.
Adjacent to the depot, a portion of the North Side area included La Colonia Mexicana, a sector historically platted for Hispanics with its own plaza. This area also attracted African American residents due to its proximity to the port and railroad. A vestige of that community, the now-vacant Solomon M. Coles School (1925) at 924 Winnebago Street (with additions in 1942 and 1950), is located at the site where the city's first African American school was erected in 1893.