Great Northern Depot - Fargo, ND
Posted by: 
m&m O
N 46° 52.858 W 096° 47.204
14T E 668635 N 5194314
The old Great Northern Depot is just east of Broadway in the north end of downtown.
Waymark Code: WM1249F
Location: North Dakota, United States
Date Posted: 02/24/2020
Views: 3
The Great Northern Depot, built in 1906 at 425 Broadway, was designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style by St. Paul architect Samuel Bartlett, a friend of James J. Hill, the founder of the Great Northern railroad. The building, pictured in the 1909 real photograph postcard above, is on the National Register of Historical Places. (The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.)
In 1970, the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific merged to become the Burlington Northern Railroad. Freight trains of the Burlington used the NP tracks and passenger trains used the Great Northern tracks. In 1971, the passenger business became part of AMTRAK. AMTRAK later began to use a newer, smaller building for their passengers and the depot pictured above was no longer used after 1986.
Great Northern Restaurant and Brewery open here in 1995 and closed in 1997. JJ’s Bistro and Brewery had a six month run in 1998 and the White Earth (Minn.) Band of Chippewa Indians reopened the Great Northern in the spring of 1999, hoping to parlay food and beverage business there into into a staging area for bringing visitors to the tribe's Shooting Star Casino, Hotel and Event Center at Mahnomen, Minn. The restaurant closed on February 24, 2001.
Information from NDSU Archives, link below.
For several years The Great Northern Bicycle Company has sold and repaired bicycles in the old depot. They also host weekly group rides in the area and offer bicycle tours.
Is the station/depot currently used for railroad purposes?: No
Is the station/depot open to the public?: Yes
If the station/depot is not being used for railroad purposes, what is it currently used for?:
Great Northern Bicycle Company is housed in the depot. Great Northern Bicycle Company carries new and used bicycles, has a repair shop with four work stations and offers bike fitting services.
What rail lines does/did the station/depot serve?: Great Northern, Burlington Northern, and AMTRAK
Station/Depot Web Site: [Web Link]
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