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Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa)

Coordinates: 41°44′28″N 92°43′17″W / 41.74111°N 92.72139°W / 41.74111; -92.72139
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Grinnell
Former Rock Island Line passenger rail station
Grinnell station in June 2006
General information
Location1014 Third Avenue, Grinnell, Iowa 50112
History
Opened1863
ClosedMay 31, 1970
Rebuilt1893
Former services
Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station
Kellogg Main Line Malcom
toward Chicago
Union Depot
Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa) is located in Iowa
Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa)
Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa) is located in the United States
Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa)
LocationPark and State Sts.
Grinnell, Iowa
Coordinates41°44′28″N 92°43′17″W / 41.74111°N 92.72139°W / 41.74111; -92.72139
Arealess than one acre
Built1893
Built byChicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
NRHP reference No.76000805[1]
Added to NRHPDecember 12, 1976

Union Depot, also known as the Grinnell Union Depot, is an historic building located in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad built the first tracks through the area in 1863, and they built a simple frame depot the same year. The Central Railroad of Iowa extended its north–south line to Grinnell nine years later, and their tracks crossed the Rock Island tracks at this location. The Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway eventually acquired the Central Railroad. The old depot became too small and this one replaced it in 1893. It was designed by the Rock Island Lines and built by a local contractor. The one-story, brick structure follows a square plan with a round corner tower at the junction of the two tracks. The tower provided the station agent with a clear view in all directions.[2]

Service included the CRI&P's Corn Belt Rocket and Rocky Mountain Rocket passenger lines.[3] In the trains' final year there, the route was shortened to Chicago to Council Bluffs.[4] Service ended on May 31, 1970; with the end of the Council Bluffs train.[5]

The building now houses a restaurant. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ William C. Oelke. "Rock Island Lines Passenger Station". National Park Service. Retrieved 2016-04-19. with photo
  3. ^ Richard Parks. "A Chicago Hub Railroad of the 1930s - 1940s: The Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railway (Rock Island)". Passenger Railroad Index -1930s-1940s. Retrieved 2017-05-06.
  4. ^ "Rock Island Lines, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
  5. ^ Paul C. Nelson, University of Iowa, ‘Annals of Iowa,’ ca. 1971, “Rise and Decline of the Rock Island Passenger Train in the 20th Century,” Part II, p. 751 https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/6748/galley/115521/view/