"Unaltered and centrally located along the former Northern Pacific (now Burlington Northern) tracks, the Depot serves as a visual reminder of the importance of the railroad in the economy and social life of the community. For nearly a century, passenger travel and shipments of freight to distant markets went by train. The railroad was instrumental to the settlement of Ritzville in transporting crops to national and international markets, and in bringing settlers to the area. It provided transportation services for nearly a century. The Depot serves as a notable reminder of the town's historic past.
Today, the depot serves as a museum.
The well preserved Ritzville passenger depot is a handsome one-story brick structure with a gable roof, bellcast eaves, and stepped parapets with stone coping. The depot features original one-over-one double-hung windows, single leaf doors with transoms, concrete foundation, and small round arch windows in the gable ends. The interior is also well preserved, and includes terrazzo floors and tile wainscoting. The building is constructed of bricks with segmentally arched windows throughout. There are two bays on opposite sides of the building (northwest and southeast), one of which contains
the ticket office. A concrete belt course encases the building and acts as a sill for the windows. The foundation is constructed of concrete block and is deteriorating. There is a concrete curbing encircling the bottom of the building next to the foundation. An attractive deck outside the depot, including the platform area and sidewalks, is made of brick set in a decorative patio-style pattern. This deck runs the entire length of the block along the tracks on the southeast side of the depot and just around the building (\5-30 feet) on all other sides. The depot's exterior is relatively unchanged with the exception of the newer concrete loading dock, which probably replaced a wooden dock. A modem aluminum window has been installed in a door on the northwest side of the building, as has an aluminum drain pipe running from the rain gutter away from the southeast comer of the building. These minor changes do not detract from the overall historic character of the structure."