Beaumont, Texas

Beaumont (/ˈboʊmɒnt/ BOH-mont) is a city in and county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, United States, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located on the Neches River and about 90 miles from Houston, the city had a population of 118,296 at the 2010 census, making it the twenty-fourth most populous city in the state of Texas.

Beaumont's early history was centered around the development of lumber, farming, and port industries. In 1892 Joseph Eloi Broussard opened the first rice mill in the state, stimulating development of rice farming in the area; he also organized an irrigation authority to support rice culture. A big change occurred in 1901 with the Spindletop gusher, which demonstrated the potential of the huge oil field. The area transformed into one of the major petro-chemical refining areas in the country. Along with Port Arthur and Orange, Beaumont forms the Golden Triangle, a major industrial area on the Gulf Coast.

Beaumont is home of Lamar University, a national Carnegie Doctoral Research university with 15,000 students. Over the years, several corporations have called Beaumont home. For example, Gulf States Utilities had its headquarters in Beaumont until its absorption by Entergy Corporation in 1993. GSU's Edison Plaza headquarters is still the tallest building in Beaumont (as of 2011). With Spindletop, several energy companies developed in Beaumont, and some continue.

Beaumont station

Beaumont is an Amtrak station in Beaumont, Texas, served by the Sunset Limited service.

Station buildings

The current station building and adjacent police substation were constructed in 2012 and opened on September 14 of that year. An earlier station building on the site sustained damage in Hurricane Rita in 2005. That building was removed and only a concrete platform was left for six years until the current replacement station was built. A portion of the construction funds for the current station was from $1.2 million in federal stimulus funding. Work was completed in January, 2012. The station is constructed of red brick and has an enclosed waiting room. A five hundred fifty (550) foot platform was also constructed.

The city of Beaumont built a police substation with public restrooms on the site adjacent to the current train station at the same time.

Public transportation

Public transportation is accessible with the Beaumont Municipal Transit System. Route #4 - South Eleventh runs south of the Amtrak station with a stop on Fannin Street. The transit system provides ten routes traveling throughout the city. Each of the routes travel to the Dannebaum Station transit center providing a central transfer spot.