Union Depot
Text
(Depot Place)
- 214 East Fourth Street (between Sibley and Wacouta) -
- 1917-23, Charles S. Frost -
Riverboat traffic gave Saint Paul its start, but with the railroads, the city grew into a major freight transfer center. By the early 1880s, more than a dozen rail companies operated out of separate stations in the city. This spacious building replaced the first Union Depot, lost to fire in 1913. A promising future seemed assured by the bustle of travelers. Freight workers handled thousands of cans of milk and 750 tons of mail each day. But the Panama Canal, opened in 1914, diverted the transcontinental freight traffic that formed the backbone of the railroad industry. The "Good Roads Movement" of the 1920s improved automobile travel. The echo of the stationmaster's voice fell silent in 1971, but adaptive use restored the cavernous space with its grand skylit atrium for the enjoyment of restaurant patrons.
Files
Saint Paul Union Depot
Photographer: Charles P. Gibson Date: 1924-25 Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul Union Depot
Photographer: Charles P. Gibson Date: February, 1924 Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
Union Depot yards
Date: 1918 Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
Old Union Depot
Date: 1886 Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
Union Depot after the fire
The old Union Depot was lost to a fire in 1913. Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society
Saint Paul Levee and the Union Depot
Photographer: T. W. Ingersoll Date: Approximately 1910 Image courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society