Duluth Depot

{{Infobox museum

| name = St. Louis County Depot

| logo =

| logo_caption =

| image = Duluth Depot.jpg

| caption = The Depot viewed from the north

| map_type =

| map_relief =

| map_size =

| map_caption =

| coordinates = {{coord|46|46|53|N|92|6|14|W|display=inline,title}}

| established = 1973

| location = 506 W. Michigan Street, Duluth, Minnesota, United States

| type = Arts and Culture Center

| accreditation =

| visitors =

| architect = Peabody and Stearns

| owner =

| publictransit = {{Bus icon}} DTA

| car_park =

| parking =

| network =

| website = {{URL|http://experiencethedepot.org/}}

}}

{{Infobox station

| style = Amtrak

| style2=Amtrak old

| name = Duluth, MN

| type = Former Amtrak inter-city rail station

| image = Northstar_1981_sep20_duluth.jpg

| image_caption = The North Star at the Duluth Depot,
September 1981

| line = {{rail color box|system=Amtrak|line=North Star}}

| other =

| platform = 3 island platform
1 side platform

| tracks = 7

| passengers =

| pass_year =

| pass_percent =

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| opened = 1892

| closed = 1985

| code =

| zone =

| services =

| map_type = Minnesota#USA

| map_caption = Location in Minnesota##Location in United States

| mapframe = yes

| mapframe-custom = {{Infobox mapframe |shape=none |line=none |marker=rail |marker-color=#000 |zoom=15 }}

| other_services_header = Proposed services

| other_services = {{Adjacent stations|system1=Amtrak|line1=Northern Lights Express|right1=Superior}}

| other_services2_header = Former services

| other_services2 = {{Adjacent stations|system1 = Amtrak

|line1 = Arrowhead|right1 = Superior

|line2 = North Star|right2 = Superior

|system3=Great Northern Railway

|line3=St. Paul-Duluth|left3=Superior|line4=Grand Forks-Duluth|left4=Superior

}}

| nrhp={{Infobox NRHP

| embed = yes

| name = St. Louis County Depot

| nrhp_type =

| area =

| architecture = Châteauesque

| refnum = 71001028{{NRISref|2010a}}

| added = December 9, 1971

}}}}

The St. Louis County Depot is a historic railroad station in Duluth, Minnesota, United States. It was built as a union station in 1892, serving seven railroads at its peak. Rail service ceased in 1969 and the building was threatened with demolition until it reopened in 1973 as St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center (The Depot).{{cite web |title=Depot History |url=http://duluthdepot.org/depot-history/ |publisher=The Depot St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center |year=2019 |accessdate=2019-04-07 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408002123/http://duluthdepot.org/depot-history/ |url-status=dead }} Train service also resumed from 1974 to 1985, by Amtrak.

Owned today by St. Louis County, the building houses two museums (Lake Superior Railroad Museum, and St. Louis County Historical Society Museum), two performing arts organizations (DSSO and Minnesota Ballet), and serves as the departure point for the North Shore Scenic Railroad.{{cite web |title=Organizations |url=http://duluthdepot.org/organizations/ |publisher=The Depot St. Louis County Heritage & Arts Center |year=2019 |accessdate=2019-04-07 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408002110/http://duluthdepot.org/organizations/ |url-status=dead }}

Description

The Depot is located at 506 West Michigan Avenue right off of I-35, which runs immediately southeast of the Depot. The historic building houses several contemporary and historic artworks and artifacts, as well as an experimental theater, and also hosts public events in its Great Hall. The 1977 addition, houses a large theater and a ballet studio. The lower station has one side platform and three island platforms that provide access to its seven tracks. The outer southeast active track is used by a scenic railroad, with the remainder being used to display various trains and train cars.{{cite web|url=http://www.duluthdepot.org/|title=Map of the Duluth Union Depot, as of 2014|website=www.duluthdepot.org|accessdate=28 May 2014}} (inset linked map)

History

The current building is the second depot built on this site. The first, a small wooden building, was built in 1869. That same year a large group of Swedish immigrants arrived in Duluth, seeking work on the first railroad line to serve the city, the Lake Superior and Mississippi.

The Depot was designed by architectural firm Peabody and Stearns. Many local materials were used in the French Norman-style building, including granite, sandstone, and yellow brick. After two years of construction, the Depot was completed in 1892 at a cost of $615,000, at which point the earlier depot was demolished.

Over the decades, it served seven railroads: Duluth & Iron Range, Duluth, Missabe, & Iron Range, Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic, Duluth Missabe & Northern, Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific, and the Saint Paul & Duluth.

The main entrance to the building on Michigan Street opened into a "general waiting room" (today known as the Great Hall) which featured a newsstand and a lunch counter. In addition the main floor also boasted a barber shop, a Western Union telegraph office, a smoking room, a ladies' waiting room, and a men's toilet.

{{cite web |title=Duluth Union Depot |url=https://zenithcity.com/archive/historic-architecture/duluth-union-depot-1892/ |website=Zenith City Online |date=April 21, 2017 |access-date=24 August 2022}}

A large train shed originally covered the building's platforms, but it was removed in 1924 and replaced by the canopies that remain.

Its last trains in the late 1960s were the Great Northern Railway's Badger and Gopher, both to Minneapolis and St. Paul (later absorbed into the Burlington Northern Railroad){{cite journal |title=Burlington Northern, Table 11 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=102 |issue=12 |date=May 1970}} and the Northern Pacific Railway ran local unnamed service to St. Paul and Minneapolis{{cite journal |title=Northern Pacific Railway, Table 6 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=102 |issue=12 |date=December 1966}} and service to Staples, Minnesota.{{cite journal |title=Northern Pacific Railway, Table 5 |journal=Official Guide of the Railways |publisher=National Railway Publication Company |volume=101 |issue=1 |date=June 1968}}

The station closed in 1969. It was scheduled for demolition but was purchased from the railroad for the bargain price of $250,000. The edifice was in excellent condition, but renovations still cost $4.7 million.

The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Duluth Union Depot in 1971 for its state-level significance in the themes of architecture and transportation.{{cite web |title=Duluth Union Depot |url=http://www.mnhs.org/preserve/nrhp/NRDetails.cfm-NPSNum=80004364.html |work=National Register of Historic Places Program |publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2019-04-07}} It was nominated as a unique example of the era's large railroad terminals and the connection they provided to the rest of the nation.{{cite web |last=Cavin |first=Brooks |title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination Form: Duluth Union Depot |url={{NRHP url|id=71001028}} |publisher=National Park Service |date=1971-11-23 |accessdate=2019-04-07}} With {{NRHP url|id=71001028|photos=y|title=three accompanying photos}}

=Former Amtrak service=

While The Depot continued to house its other tenants, Amtrak provided rail service to the station for nearly a decade (1977–1985). In 1975, Amtrak launched the Arrowhead to run from the Great Northern Depot in Minneapolis to Superior, Wisconsin{{cite web |author=Amtrak |title=All-American Schedules |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19750515&item=0044|publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables| page=43| date=15 May 1975| accessdate=17 May 2014}} (south of Duluth, just across the Saint Louis Bay of Lake Superior).

Amtrak Thruway service connected Duluth to Superior until 1977, when Arrowhead was extended the {{convert|4|mi|0}} north to the Depot.{{cite web |author=Amtrak |title=National Train Timetables |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19770215&item=0026 |publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables |page=26 |date=15 Feb 1977 |accessdate=17 May 2014}} In 1978, the North Star replaced the Arrowhead and extended the rail service south from Minneapolis–Saint Paul to Chicago, Illinois.{{cite web |author=Amtrak |title=National Train Timetables |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19780430&item=0038 |publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables |page=37 |date=30 Apr 1978 |accessdate=17 May 2014}} The next stop for both Amtrak trains was in Superior. In 1981, service by the North Star was truncated to the Midway Station in Saint Paul.{{cite web |author=Amtrak |title=National Train Timetables |url=http://www.timetables.org/full.php?group=19811025&item=0043 |publisher=The Museum of Railway Timetables |page=42 |date=25 Oct 1981 |accessdate=17 May 2014}} In 1985, Amtrak discontinued the North Star and all passenger rail service to Duluth.

Current operations

=North Shore Scenic Railroad/Lake Superior Railroad Museum=

Scenic train rides from the station are provided by the North Shore Scenic Railroad, a heritage railroad operated by the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Excursions of one to six hours' duration run northeast along Lake Superior's northern shore to destinations that include the Lester River, the area of Palmers, and the city of Two Harbors. The railroad runs other special excursions throughout the year, and may be chartered as well.{{cite web |title=North Shore Scenic Railroad |url=https://duluthtrains.com/ |publisher=North Shore Scenic Railroad |year=2019 |accessdate=2019-08-03}}

=St. Louis County Historical Society=

SLCHS exhibits housed in The Depot include Veterans Memorial Hall.

=Minnesota Ballet=

The ballet has three rehearsal spaces in The Depot; it mounts occasional events and performances in the building.

=The Depot Foundation=

The Depot Foundation is dedicated to preserving The Depot as a vibrant and welcoming forum for the arts, culture and history through managing and growing a permanent endowment.

=DSSO=

The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra evokes a mix between the beautiful consistency of classically trained musicians with an accessible experience for new and returning guests.

Proposed rail service

In 2011, renovations to the depot were planned to serve the Northern Lights Express Higher-speed rail service from Minneapolis to Duluth. This {{convert|155|mi|adj=on}} project is proposed to roughly follow the route of Amtrak's former North Star and is expected to include stops in Coon Rapids, Isanti, Cambridge, and Hinckley in Minnesota and in Superior.{{cite web |title=Minnesota's Northern Lights high speed rail project receives $5m grant |url=http://www.globalrailnews.com/2011/09/09/minnesotas-northern-lights-high-speed-rail-project-receives-5m-grant/ |publisher=Global Rail News |date=9 Sep 2011 |accessdate=17 May 2014}}