In 1997 a group of entrepreneurs made Montana Rail Link, its present owner, an offer to lease the building, in which they hoped to install a brewery, Hellroaring Brewing Co. Though nothing came of it and the building remains empty, there is still sporadic interest in the building and its potential for the future.
Built in 1892, the brick depot was a replacement for an earlier wood framed depot. In 1892, with Bozeman vying for the title of state capitol, the town and Northern Pacific got together and built this station, much more impressive than the wood framed building it replaced, in order to better its chances in the capitol bid. Bozeman may not be the state capitol, but it got a better railway station for its efforts.
This depot served the town as a passenger station until improvements in alternate transportation methods and highways obsoleted it in the '70s. With the exception of a brief stint as a set in the movie
A River Runs Through It, the building has been used for storage ever since.
Following is most of a very comprehensive article on the depot, by Courtney Kramer, as posted in the Bozeman Magazine.
Gauging the Future of Bozeman’s
NP Passenger Depot
The existing structure is actually two parts. In an effort to sway voters during the state capital bid of 1892, Bozeman worked with the Northern Pacific to construct a passenger depot more impressive than the NP’s standard wood frame building. A brick depot with some Romanesque style details such as rounded window transoms and a centralized turret was constructed. The brick color and red mortar used to join the bricks appeared similar to Montana Hall on the Montana State University campus. Though an upgrade from the standardized passenger depot of the NP, the 1892 building was a far cry from the refined facilities the NP built in Livingston and Missoula a decade later.
By 1923 burgeoning rail passenger traffic in and out of Bozeman necessitated an expansion of the depot. Again, Bozeman worked with the Northern Pacific to design an attractive building to shelter passengers. Though the original architect is unknown at this time (likely a Northern Pacific staff architect), reports that Bozeman architect Fred Willson designed the structure are inaccurate. Willson likely served as the architect on-site monitoring construction for the NP’s main offices in Minneapolis but it’s unclear how much, if any, influence he had on the building’s design.
The 1923-1924 remodel of the NP Passenger Depot added to the south end of the 1892 building. Windows were bricked in, doorways moved and the central turret feature dismantled and streamlined. A large square addition to the south became the primary focal point of the façade and the entire structure was clad in a red, wire-raked brick. The 1892 structure was re-faced with the new brick and totally incorporated into the new building. Deep roof eves and inverted knee brackets reflect the influence of the Prairie Style on the 1923-24 remodel.
The new addition housed passenger waiting areas. The large main passenger waiting room included a terra cotta floor, tile wainscoting, expansive ticket booth and soaring beamed ceiling. Though slightly water damaged, these spaces all remain intact and beg for restoration.
The ladies waiting room, to the south side of the building, was altered at some point, likely in the 1960’s. Green carpet covers the floor, wood paneling now hides original tile wainscoting on the walls and a drop ceiling camouflages the room’s original high ceilings. Though hidden, these elements can all be restored. The ladies toilet area retains its original tile flooring, tile walls and granite stall partitions.
The men’s smoking room, created in 1924 on the west facade of the structure, was also extensively altered at some point in the mid-20th century. The smoking room, a vestibule through which a passenger entered the men’s toilet area, was incorporated into a baggage intake room and replaced with a hallway. The men’s toilet area also still has its granite stall partitions and most of the original finishes.
From the Bozeman Magazine