Minneapolis station (Milwaukee Road)

Minneapolis
Minneapolis
Former intercity passenger rail station
	The Milwaukee Road Depot from the west, with train shed at rear
General information
Location	201 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55401
Services
	Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot, Freight House and Train Shed
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Postcard showing the station's pinnacle.
Location	201 3rd Ave., S.; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Coordinates	44°58′47″N 93°15′44″W / 44.97972°N 93.26222°W
Built	1899
Architect	Charles S. Frost
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival, Italianate
NRHP reference No.	78001542
Added to NRHP	November 28, 1978

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot Freight House and Train Shed (commonly referred to as the Milwaukee Road Depot), now officially named The Depot, is a historic railroad depot in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. At its peak, the station served 29 trains per day. Following decline, the station was closed and eventually adapted into various other uses.

Development[edit]

The Milwaukee Road had a long history in the Minneapolis area, beginning in 1865 when a predecessor railroad, the Minnesota Central, built a line from Mendota to Minneapolis. The Minnesota Central also built a line from Mendota to St. Paul in that early era. Eventually, rail lines connected Minneapolis and St. Paul with Milwaukee, Wisconsin via Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.^[2]

Architecture[edit]

The freight house and the first depot were built in 1879, with an Italianate architectural style.^[3] The first depot was razed after a new facility, with Renaissance Revival architecture, was built in 1899.^[2]^[4]

Originally, the facility's most distinguishing feature, the clock tower, was pinnacled and modeled after the Giralda in Seville, Spain; high winds destroyed the pinnacle in 1941 and the tower has since had a flat top.^[5]

Operation[edit]

The freight house served a large percentage of less-than-carload freight arriving and departing from the Minneapolis area. Passenger traffic was also significant. In 1916, 15 passenger trains per day used the depot. Later years included the flagship Hiawathas. Rail yard facilities just south of downtown, on Hiawatha Avenue north of Lake Street, serviced the trains.^[2] By 1920, the peak of activity, 29 trains per day used the depot.^[4] Into the 1960s, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (or Rock Island) operated the Twin Star Rocket bound for Houston, via Des Moines and Dallas from the station.

Closure and reuse[edit]

As passenger rail traffic decreased across the nation and freight facilities were consolidated elsewhere, the Minneapolis depot steadily lost traffic. The depot was closed in 1971 and stood vacant for many years as various redevelopment and reuse plans fizzled.^[5] In 1978, the depot and freight house were placed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1980, rail access to the depot was severed when the Milwaukee Road abandoned most of its downtown Minneapolis trackage.^[6] In 1998, CSM Corporation began a project to reuse the depot, including a Renaissance Hotel and Residence Inn by Marriott, an indoor water park, and an enclosed outdoor ice skating rink located in the former trainshed. The project was completed in 2001.^[4] The water park was converted to additional guest rooms in 2015 during an expansion of the Renaissance Hotel.^[7]

Other train depots in the Twin Cities[edit]

Midway station (Minnesota) – The former Amtrak station serving the Twin Cities
Saint Paul Union Depot – Former and current St. Paul passenger train destination
Chicago Great Western Railway Station on South Washington Avenue
Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway Station on North 5th Street
Minneapolis Great Northern Depot – Former Minneapolis destination for Chicago and North Western, Great Northern, and Northern Pacific passenger trains

References[edit]

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
^ ^a ^b ^c Hofsommer, Don L. (2005). Minneapolis and the Age of Railways. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-4501-9.
^ Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c "History of the Depot". Retrieved 2007-01-13.
^ ^a ^b Millett, Larry (2007). AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-87351-540-5.
^ Luecke, John (2010). More Milwaukee Road In Minnesota. Genadier Publications. p. 38.
^ "CSM plans to remove Depot hotel's water park for more rooms - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2015-01-25.

External links[edit]

The Depot website

Photos

Milwaukee Road Depot at the Minnesota Historical Society.

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.

[Hofsommer-2] Hofsommer, Don L. (2005). Minneapolis and the Age of Railways. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. ISBN 0-8166-4501-9.

[nord-3] Nord, Mary Ann (2003). The National Register of Historic Places in Minnesota. Minnesota Historical Society. ISBN 0-87351-448-3.

[thedepot-4] "History of the Depot". Retrieved 2007-01-13.

[Millett-5] Millett, Larry (2007). AIA Guide to the Twin Cities: The Essential Source on the Architecture of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Minnesota Historical Society Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0-87351-540-5.

[6] Luecke, John (2010). More Milwaukee Road In Minnesota. Genadier Publications. p. 38.

[7] "CSM plans to remove Depot hotel's water park for more rooms - Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal". Archived from the original on 2015-01-25.

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v t e Railroads in the Twin Cities
Current freight rail service	BNSF Canadian National CPKC Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad Minnesota Commercial Railway Progressive Rail Twin Cities & Western Railroad Union Pacific Wisconsin Central
Current passenger rail service	Amtrak Empire Builder Metro Transit Blue Line Green Line Northstar Commuter Rail
Current stations	Saint Paul Union Depot
Historical stations	Midway Milwaukee Road Depot Minneapolis Great Northern Depot
Historical lines serving Midway	Amtrak Arrowhead North Coast Hiawatha North Star Twin Cities Hiawatha
Historical lines serving both Milwaukee Road Depot and Saint Paul Union Depot	Milwaukee Road Twin Cities Hiawatha Rock Island Railroad Twin Star Rocket Soo Line Winnipeger
Historical lines serving both Minneapolis Great Northern Depot and Saint Paul Union Depot	Chicago and North Western Railway and Omaha Road Twin Cities 400 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Twin Cities Zephyr Great Northern Railway Empire Builder Northern Pacific Railway North Coast Limited Wisconsin Central Railway
Historical lines serving other depots	Chicago Great Western Railway Minnesotan Minneapolis & St. Louis Railway Electric Short Line Railway Luce Line Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway Dan Patch line Minneapolis, Anoka & Cuyuna Range Railroad Minnesota Transfer Railway
Related	Lake Superior Railroad Museum Milwaukee Road 261 Minnesota Prairie Line Minnesota Streetcar Museum Como-Harriet Streetcar Line Minnesota Transportation Museum Minnesota Zephyr Twin City Rapid Transit

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