Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Iowa City, Iowa)

Last updated
Iowa City
Former Rock Island Line passenger station
SteamAtRockIslandDepot.JPG
A steam excursion stops at the depot in 2006.
General information
Location115 Wright Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240
Platforms1
History
Opened1855
Closed1970
Rebuilt1898
Former services
Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station
Tiffin Main Line Downey
toward Chicago
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Station
Iowa City train station.jpg
USA Iowa location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location115 Wright St.
Iowa City, Iowa
Coordinates 41°39′13″N91°32′1″W / 41.65361°N 91.53361°W / 41.65361; -91.53361
Arealess than one acre
Built1898
Architectural style Romanesque
NRHP reference No. 82000411 [1]
Added to NRHPDecember 10, 1982

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Station is a historic building located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Built in 1898 for passenger use, it was the second depot in the city. [2] The first one was built by the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P), in 1855. This one was built through the efforts of Harry Breene, the local Rock Island agent. W.K. McFarlin, CRI&P's superintendent of maintenance and construction oversaw the building's construction. Architecturally, it is a combination of the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Romanesque. The depot was built to similar designs of stations in Ottawa, Illinois, and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

The Rocky Mountain Rocket at the station in July of 1963 CRIP 648 (E8A) with The Rocky Mountain Rocket at Iowa City, IA in July 1963 (21772571994).jpg
The Rocky Mountain Rocket at the station in July of 1963

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]

The depot ceased operations in 1970, although the railroad continued to maintain offices here. In 1982 (two years after the Rock Island ceased operations) it was acquired by a couple of attorneys for their offices. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places the same year. The building sits adjacent to the Iowa Interstate Railroad lines, and the railroad has operated occasional excursion trains that have stopped at the former depot.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RailsWest Railroad Museum</span>

RailsWest Railroad Museum is a railroad museum operated by the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County at 16th Avenue and South Main Street and illustrates the history of railroads in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway</span>

The Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway (BCR&N) was a railroad that operated in the United States from 1876 to 1903. It was formed to take over the operations of the bankrupt Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Minnesota Railway, which was, in turn, the result of merging several predecessor lines, the construction of which began in 1869. The corporate headquarters were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it had operations in Iowa and in Minnesota. It was succeeded by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock Island Lines Passenger Station (Rock Island, Illinois)</span>

The Rock Island Lines Passenger Station, also known as Abbey Station, is a historic building located in Rock Island, Illinois, United States. It ceased operating as a railway station in 1980. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and it was designated a Rock Island landmark in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyoming station (Illinois)</span>

Wyoming was a Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad station in Wyoming, Illinois. Now the headquarters of the Rock Island Trail State Park, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Depot. The station has also been restored to the original red color.

Frost & Granger was an American architectural partnership from 1898 to 1910 of brothers-in-law Charles Sumner Frost (1856–1931) and Alfred Hoyt Granger (1867–1939). Frost and Granger were known for their designs of train stations and terminals, including the now-demolished Chicago and North Western Terminal, in Chicago. The firm designed several residences in Hyde Park, Illinois, and many other buildings. Several of their buildings are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilton station (Iowa)</span>

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad-Wilton Depot is an historic building located in Wilton, Iowa, United States. The Mississippi and Missouri Railroad built the first rail line in 1855 in what would be called Wilton Junction. The railroad became the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P) a few years later. A wooden frame depot and a separate freight facility served the community. The railroad placed their repair and maintenance center in Wilton, and it remained here until 1881 when they started to move operations to Davenport and Muscatine. Rail service continued to increase along the CRI&P, which necessitated a new depot in Wilton. This single-story, brick Romanesque Revival structure was completed in 1898. Six passenger trains stopped in Wilton in 1911, and by 1922 same-day service to and from Chicago began.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-Dows</span>

Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Passenger Depot-Dows, also known as the Dows Rock Island Depot, is an historic building located in Dows, Iowa, United States. The depot was built in 1896 and served the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railway as a combination passenger and freight station. The Romanesque Revival style was inspired by Henry Hobson Richardson's designs for small railroad stations. It was the first railway depot in Wright County. It passed to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad and continued to serve as a working depot until 1980. The Dows Historical Society bought and restored the depot in 1988. It now serves as a welcome center and railroad museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Passenger Station</span> Former railway station in Fort Worth, Texas

Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railroad Passenger Station is a former passenger train station in Fort Worth, Texas. From 1971 to 2002, it was used as Fort Worth's Amtrak station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Passenger Station (Clarion, Iowa)</span> United States historic place

Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad Passenger Station, also known as Rock Island Railroad Depot and the Rock Island Depot Railroad Museum, is a historic building located in Clarion, Iowa, United States. The station was built in 1898 by contractor A. H. Connor & Company of Cedar Rapids, Iowa for the Burlington, Cedar Rapids and Northern Railroad (BCR&N). Clarion also had a Chicago Great Western Railway depot, no longer extant. At one time there were 14 trains that served the city. In 1903 the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway acquired the BCR&N, and this depot served that railroad. The single story, Romanesque Revival, brick structure measures 26 by 88.5 feet. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Overland Station</span> United States historic place

Great Overland Station, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Depot, is a museum and former railroad station in Topeka, Kansas, United States. The station was built from 1925 to 27 and designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood, whose firm designed over 20 Union Pacific Railroad stations from 1924 to 1931. The station's Free Classical Revival design uses terra cotta extensively and features a center pavilion with two increasingly smaller pavilions on either side. Passenger service to the station began in January 1927; almost 20,000 people attended the station's grand opening, and the new station was considered "one of the largest and finest stations west of the Missouri River". In the later years of its train station life, it also hosted the passenger trains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 'Santa Fe' had its trains stop at its own Topeka station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keokuk Union Depot</span> United States historic place

Keokuk Union Depot is a historic train station on the west bank of the Mississippi River near downtown Keokuk, Iowa, United States. It was built from 1890 to 1891, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Atlantic, Iowa)</span> Former train station in Atlantic, Iowa

The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot, also known as the Rock Island Depot, is an historic building located in Atlantic, Iowa, United States. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad built the first tracks through the area in 1868. The city of Atlantic was founded at the time of the railroad construction. It grew to become the largest and the most significant community along the Rock Island lines between Des Moines and Council Bluffs. The present depot dates from 1898, and it is not a standard-plan depot for the railroad. The unusual design suggests it is the work of an architect, possibly from Chicago. It was built during a prosperous period for the railroad when it was able to replace its facilities along its mainline. The express freight and baggage building attached to the depot was built at the same time. The passenger depot replaced a frame combination passenger and freight depot a block away.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago & Northwestern Passenger Depot and Baggage Room-Carroll</span> United States historic place

The Chicago & Northwestern Passenger Depot and Baggage Room-Carroll, also known as the Carroll Depot is a historic building located in Carroll, Iowa, United States. It is an example of a replacement station built along its Iowa mainline by the Chicago and North Western Railway (CNW) in 1896. It replaced a two-story, frame, combination station that was first built in 1867 by its predecessor line, the Cedar Rapids and Missouri River Railroad. That building had experienced two fires. The CNW had built two branch lines from Carroll in 1877 and 1880, which increased business and necessitated a larger depot. The Carroll Express Building was also built across the street for further railroad use. A separate wooden freight house had been built in 1888. Chicago architect Charles Sumner Frost designed this station in the Romanesque Revival style. The baggage room is separated from the depot by a breezeway. Frost designed at least 15 stations for the CNW in Iowa and Nebraska and another 14 in the Chicago area. The building represents the prosperity of the line during the Golden Age of Railroads.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union Depot (Grinnell, Iowa)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Pella, Iowa)</span> Former train station in Pella, Iowa

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Passenger Depot-Pella, also known as the Pella Depot and the Rolscreen Museum, is a historic building located in Pella, Iowa, United States. The Des Moines Valley Railroad built the first tracks through the area in 1865, and they built a simple frame depot to serve passenger's needs. For 10 years, Pella served as the only rail stop in Marion County until a competing station was built in Knoxville, Iowa by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. The Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad leased the Des Moines Valley's tracks beginning in 1878 and provided freight service through 1980. The old frame building was replaced, in 1906, with a single story, brick depot–a conventional building style for the railroad. The new, brick depot served as a passenger station until the latter 1940s. The last passenger service was as a stop on a short line motor train service between Eldon in southeast Iowa and Des Moines. The station was freight only by 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Depot (Stuart, Iowa)</span>

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad: Stuart Passenger Station is a historic building located in Stuart, Iowa, United States. The town of Stuart was laid out by Charles A. Stuart, for whom it is named, in concert with the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The railroad reached this point in 1868 and the depot was completed the following year. It is a single story, side gable, frame structure covered with brick veneer. The segmentally-arched widows are capped with brick hoods and limestone keystones. It contains four rooms that housed a baggage room, men's waiting room, ticket office, and the ladies waiting room. This was one of several buildings constructed in Stuart by the Rock Island Line, which placed a divisional headquarters here from the beginning. Other facilities included a roundhouse (1871) and brick shops (1874) that replaced wood-frame structures. In 1897 the railroad moved its facilities to Valley Junction, now West Des Moines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muskegon station</span> United States historic place

The Union Depot is a railway station located at 610 Western Avenue in Muskegon, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000. It is now the Muskegon County Convention & Visitor's Bureau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District</span> Historic district in Iowa, United States

The Davenport Downtown Commercial Historic District is a nationally recognized historic district located in the central business district of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020. At the time of its nomination it consisted of 43 resources, which included 33 contributing buildings, one contributing structure, and nine non-contributing buildings. In addition, the district also contains 33 buildings that are individually listed on the National Register. This historic district is bordered by four other districts: the Crescent Warehouse Historic District and the Davenport Motor Row and Industrial Historic District on the east, the Hamburg Historic District to the northwest, and the West Third Street Historic District on the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Des Moines, Iowa)</span>

The Des Moines Rock Island Depot is a combination passenger and freight pair of buildings in the Beaux-Arts style in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Construction of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad passenger building was completed in 1901. The building is in the Civic Center Historic District, west of the Des Moines River. A covered freight platform and brick building added in 1910 on the east side of the pair of buildings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairbury station</span> Rail depot

The Fairbury Rock Island Depot and Freight House in Fairbury, Nebraska is a historic railroad station and freight house complex which served trains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The Renaissance Revival passenger station began construction in 1913 and had a grand opening on February 10, 1914. The second story of the station housed the Western Division Headquarters for the railroad. The passenger station served trains including the Rock Island's Rocky Mountain Rocket from Chicago to Colorado Springs and Denver. When the Rocky Mountain Rocket was terminated on October 15, 1966, the Rock Island's passenger service was discontinued at Fairbury. The division offices had been relocated a year earlier. The adjacent metal freight house was constructed in 1940 and served the railroad until 1963.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. James E. Jacobsen. "Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Passenger Station". National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-05-06. with photos
  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. National Railway Publication Company. 102 (12). May 1970.