Minneapolis St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Depot - Thief River Falls MN
Posted by: PeterNoG
N 48° 07.163 W 096° 10.580
14U E 710137 N 5333426
This U.S. National Register of Historic Places building is the Train Depot in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.
Waymark Code: WME94B
Location: Minnesota, United States
Date Posted: 04/21/2012
Views: 4
~ some info paraphrased from wikipedia ~ The Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad commonly called the Soo Line reached Thief River Falls in 1904. By 1913, the Soo Line's traffic dwarfed the traffic shipped by the Great Northern, and the company decided to build a large, impressive depot here.
The architects, William Kenyon and Maurice Maine, designed the building in the American Craftsman style. The structure measures 140 feet (43 m) by 50 feet (15 m) and is built of brick in a Flemish bond pattern. It has a cross-gambrel roof with shallow parapets and limestone copings. A limestone panel reading "Thief River Falls" stands above the east entrance and also at the south end of the building.
At its peak, 13 passenger trains arrived and departed each day. The building was in use as a passenger station until 1967, when the Soo Line discontinued passenger service. Local residents formed an organization to preserve the old depot, and in 1994-1995 the City of Thief River Falls renovated and remodeled the building to serve as the city hall (
visit link) . The remodeling preserved important interior features such as the terrazzo floors and the wooden trim and doors in the passenger waiting area. Soo Line 1024 (
visit link) , a 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive and the only preserved steam locomotive from the Monon Railroad, is on display outside the depot.