The Saint Paul Union Depot

The Saint Paul Union Depot may look unimpressive from the outside but its interior is nothing short of breathtaking. Its concourse features stunning stained glass artwork in an arched roof design. The history of the depot dates back to around the time of World War I and replaced a former building that was just as impressive, visually, as its later counterpart. Because the station was the primary terminal serving St. Paul several railroads chipped in on its construction. Today, the depot no longer serves as a functioning train station and has not since the late 1970s when Amtrak moved all of its operations serving the Twin Cities to the Great Northern's former station in Minneapolis. However, with funding now secured plans are under way to return the station back to "operational" status serving both commuter and intercity trains.

Saint Paul Union Depot was constructed by architect Charles Frost for the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (The Milwaukee Road) and opened in 1923 (due to World War I ongoing the station's completion was delayed for years). The terminal, built in the Classical Revival style, replaced two former buildings on the site and by the time it was built the “Golden Age” of passenger rail travel in this country would soon be ending. However, the station still served millions of passengers each year through WWII and played host to the Milwaukee Road’s most famous passenger trains, the Hiawathas.

While the station was primarily a stub-ended design featuring 18 tracks and 9 platforms (meaning trains had to back into and pull out of the staging the tracks to return to the main line), the through main line also passed right next to the building where additional boarding was available. While the Saint Paul Union Depot saw traffic dry up a few years after it opened due to the Great Depression during its peak years more than 280 trains arrived and departed from its tracks on a daily basis. As rail traffic declined through the 1950s trains began to stop calling to the terminal with the first being the C&NW's Twin Cities 400 in late July, 1963. By April 30, 1971, the last day prior to Amtrak, then-Burlington Northern's Afternoon Zephyr was the final privately owned passenger train to depart the station.

When Amtrak took over intercity passenger rail operations in 1971 it opted not to use Saint Paul Union Depot, instead decided on nearby Midway Station for its services to the Twin Cities. Thankfully, Saint Paul Union Depot has been preserved; in 1974 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places and today serves as an office building although future plans for it are much grander. Now that funding has been secured the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative will see the Twin Cities region as the central hub of a high-speed commuter rail and light rail corridor with Saint Paul Union Depot the centerpiece of that plan. Once the station reopens it will also feature the popular Empire Builder once again loading on its staging tracks. For more information about how Saint Paul Union Depot will fit into this plan please click here to visit the Ramsey County Regional Rail Authority’s website.

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(A deep thanks to the Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University for allowing Ron Nixon's historic collection of the Milwaukee Road to be featured here. Please note that the photos featured on this page feature their corresponding image number so that you may quickly and easily find more information about it from their website. To view Ron Nixon's entire collection please click here.)

One other book of interest is Kevin Holland's Classic American Railroad Terminals. While Mr. Solomon's book looks at depots and stations, large and small, found across the country Holland's work looks only at America's most famous and best remembered terminals. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.

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