Livingston Depot was designed by the Minnesota firm of Reed and Stem, the first architects for New York City's Grand Central Terminal in an Italianate style with red and yellow brick and ornate terra cotta detailing from lions' heads to floral figures and the Northern Pacific's trademark yin-yang emblem, and its interior includes inlaid terrazzo and tiling including the same NP emblem. It was constructed in approximately three years for $112,000 and dedicated in the summer of 1902.
The current facility accommodated traffic for both the main and Yellowstone Park Branch lines, and it and its predecessors thus functioned as the primary gateway to Yellowstone National Park for most of its visitors for approximately a quarter century. It served as the headquarters for the NP's Rocky Mountain division, including orders and telegraphy, and would host active rail traffic including the North Coast Limited runs. The complex combines a main building, a restaurant building, and a baggage building connected by a colonnade surrounding a courtyard facing the railroad tracks. Its shorter-lived precursors were an 1882 wooden facility, which burned down, and an 1888 brick structure, which grew to be inadequate for the rapidly increasing and somewhat affluent passenger traffic the NP was bringing to visit Yellowstone.
The earliest fortunes of the Depot were tied to the fate of the railroad. Initially it was a busy connection center, sited adjacent to the large Livingston shops complex and served as an NP division headquarters, being roughly equidistant between the termini of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Seattle, Washington. Toward about World War II, rail travel to the park tapered off heavily in favor of automobile visits, and chiefly charter excursions used the Yellowstone Park line. In 1970 the NP merged with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Great Northern Railway, and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, forming the facility's new owner, the Burlington Northern Railroad. Passenger train service was taken over by Amtrak in 1971. In 1979 Amtrak discontinued the North Coast Hiawatha in favor of the Empire Builder track on the high line, the old line of the Great Northern, and the Depot began to suffer some neglect. By the mid-1980s the BN began unsuccessfully to seek a buyer for it. Local citizens lobbied for its donation to the city and adoption by the non-profit Livingston Depot Foundation which they created for its extensive restoration and subsequent operation.
Livingston Depot Center
In summer of 1987 the depot reopened as the Livingston Depot Center, as a museum and community center in the heart of the city. It continues to operate as of 2023[update]. The museum is typically open from late May to mid-September. During the off-season the facility hosts wedding receptions, holiday parties, blues and other concerts, cards nights, historic talks, economic development forums, and similar events. A model railroad club meets in its basement. During Fourth of July weekend it hosts an arts festival in the adjacent Depot Rotary Park located parallel to the train tracks. The facility also underwent a roof restoration and restabilization project from approximately 2004 to 2007.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMStP&P), better known as the Milwaukee Road, was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until 1986.
The Empire Builder is a daily long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly 40 million acres of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe for construction.
Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.
The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after the merger on March 2, 1970 with Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The next year, it ceased operations after the trains which left their originating stations on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak began service, arrived at their destinations.
The North Coast Hiawatha was a streamlined passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. Operating from 1971 to 1979, the train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter. Its name is a combination of North Coast Limited and Hiawatha, a Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad train whose route it followed east of Minneapolis–St. Paul. Created at the behest of the United States Congress, the North Coast Hiawatha enjoyed an uncertain existence before being discontinued in 1979. Since then, there have been several unsuccessful attempts to restore it.
The Olympian and its successor the Olympian Hiawatha were passenger trains operated by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest. The Olympian operated from 1911 to 1947 and was, along with its running mate the Columbian, the first all-steel train to operate in the Pacific Northwest. The streamlined Olympian Hiawatha operated from 1947 to 1961 and was one of several Milwaukee Road trains to carry the name "Hiawatha". The Olympian Hiawatha was designed by industrial designer Brooks Stevens and included the distinctive glassed-in "Skytop" observation-sleeping cars. It later featured full-length "Super Dome" cars.
Billings station is a historic train depot in the Historic District of downtown Billings, Montana, United States. The depot was constructed to serve as a passenger station for the Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy. All three railroad merged to form the Burlington Northern Railroad in 1970, along with the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. In 1971 Amtrak took over passenger service throughout the country.
Santa Fe Depot in San Diego, California, is a union station built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to replace the small Victorian-style structure erected in 1887 for the California Southern Railroad Company. The Spanish Colonial Revival style station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a San Diego Historic Landmark. Its architecture, particularly the signature twin domes, is often echoed in the design of modern buildings in Downtown San Diego.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Depot Freight House and Train Shed, 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.
Columbia Station, also known as Wenatchee station, is an intermodal train and bus station in Wenatchee, Washington, United States. It is a stop on Amtrak's Empire Builder train and is the main hub for Link Transit, the local bus system serving Wenatchee and surrounding areas. The station is also served by intercity buses operated by Grant Transit Authority, Northwestern Trailways, and Travel Washington.
The Centralia Union Depot is an Amtrak train station in Centralia, Washington, United States. It is served by the Cascades and Coast Starlight trains.
La Crosse station is an Amtrak intercity train station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, served the daily Empire Builder. The station was built in 1926–27 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad, replacing an older station that burned in 1916. The station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot and was renovated in 2001.
Fargo Station is a train station in Fargo, North Dakota, United States. It is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder. It is the only railway station in use in the Fargo-Moorhead area and is the third-busiest in North Dakota. The platform, tracks, and station are currently all owned by BNSF Railway. The station is currently located in the former BNSF freight house. The former main station building is now home to Great Northern Bicycle Co.
The Minneapolis Great Northern Depot, also known as Great Northern Station, was a passenger railroad station which served Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. It was built in 1913 and demolished in 1978. It was located on Hennepin Avenue next to the Hennepin Avenue Bridge and across the street from the main Minneapolis Post Office.
The Missoula station in Missoula, Montana, was built by the Northern Pacific Railway in 1901. The current structure is the third depot built in Missoula by the Northern Pacific, which reached Missoula in 1883. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985, as the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot.
Gardiner station was a railway station in Gardiner, Montana, serving the Northern Pacific Railway. Gardiner was on the southern terminus of a branch line from Livingston and is at the northern border of Yellowstone National Park. Passengers would be shuttled to/from the park via stagecoach. The station was designed by Robert Reamer in the rustic style. Passenger service eventually diminished from Gardiner, and the station was torn down in 1954.
The Butte Depot is a Northern Pacific Railway train station in Butte, Montana, built in 1906. It originally served both the Northern Pacific and Union Pacific railroads. In 1970 the NP merged with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Great Northern Railway, and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway, forming the facility's new owner, the Burlington Northern Railroad; passenger train service was taken over by Amtrak in 1971. In 1979 Amtrak discontinued the North Coast Hiawatha due to budget cuts, leaving the Empire Builder on the former Great Northern Railway line, as the only passenger rail service through Montana.
Glendive Depot is an office building and former train station in Glendive, Montana. The Northern Pacific Railway established the town in 1881 and opened the first depot in 1882. The present depot building was built in 1922 and is part of the Merrill Avenue Historic District.
Bozeman Depot is a former train station in Bozeman, Montana, opened in 1883 by the Northern Pacific Railway. The current brick station house was built in 1892 and expanded in 1924.
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