Rock Island Depot -- Wichita KS
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Benchmark Blasterz
N 37° 41.141 W 097° 19.738
14S E 647341 N 4172255
The 1887 Rock Island RR depot is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Waymark Code: WMH08D
Location: Kansas, United States
Date Posted: 05/01/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member silverquill
Views: 5

This Richardsonian Romanesque Revival gem is dwarfed by the MASSIVE Beaux Arts Union Depot next door. Alert explorers will spot this beauty immediately, and appreciate why it has been on the National Register since 1973.

The historic 1910 photo credit belongs to the KS Historical Society.

Here is a link to the National Register nomination form for the depot: (visit link)

From the nomination form, this narrative:

"The Rock Island depot in Wichita was built by the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska railway company in 1887, the same year that railroad entered the city. The Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska company had been organized in December, 1885, as a subsidiary of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad company, which in July, 1890, took over all holdings of the Chicago, Kansas and Nebraska.

The Rock Island depot was designed by J. T. Long, and built by A. R. Ling. Construction of the two-story brick building began sometime in the spring of 1887, and it was scheduled for completion by late October at an estimated cost of $20,000.

The building was used as both a freight and passenger station until the nearby union station was built in 1914; since then the depot has served for freight transportation only.

The depot is situated just east of the central city business district of Wichita for which comprehensive redevelopment planning is now underway. In relation to that planning, adaptive uses of the depot are now being explored by one of the city planning groups. Among the possibilities under consideration is that of a senior citizens' recreation center for the downtown area.

This structure has been a part of Wichita's transportation scene for 85 years. In addition, it is a good example of late nineteenth century railroad architecture."

This 1887 depot is also a contributing building to the East Douglas Avenue Historic District (see Sec 7 page 11): (visit link)

729 E. Douglas, Rock Island Depot. (1887) Key Contributing.
This Queen Anne two-story brick passenger depot has quarry-faced limestone trim that references the Richardsonian Romanesque Revival style. The steeply pitched hip roof has pedimented gable dormers with decorative metal tympanums, and brick corbelling at the eaves.
A decorative terra cotta frieze band surrounds the building beneath the corbelled cornice. A hip roof verandah surrounds the building at the first floor level, providing a covered walkway; this is supported by large curved wood brackets. The first floor windows have large Richardsonian Romanesque arched openings with rough hewn surrounds extending from the sill level. The second story windows are simple rectangles, with brick sills and lintels. There is a one-story, hip roof wing on the south side of the building, also with Romanesque Revival arched openings. Listed on the National Register on 4/23/73.

711 E. Douglas, Rock Island Baggage House. (1887) Key Contributing.
Located south of the depot building, this one story brick building with Queen Anne elements has a hip roof with decorative cast iron cresting. Brick on the buildingDs corners and windows surrounds have been laid to resemble quoins. The bellcast hip roof has overhanging eaves. The windows are 2/2, double-hung with stone sills, and the freight door is wood paneled with glass sash, and fixed sash transoms above." [end]
Street address:
729 E Douglas Ave
Wichita, KS


County / Borough / Parish: Sedgewick

Year listed: 1972

Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering, Architecture, Transportation

Periods of significance: 1875-1899

Historic function: Transportation, Rail-Related, Commerce/Trade

Current function: Commerce/Trade

Privately owned?: yes

Primary Web Site: [Web Link]

Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]

Season start / Season finish: Not listed

Hours of operation: Not listed

Secondary Website 2: Not listed

National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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Benchmark Blasterz visited Rock Island Depot  -- Wichita KS 03/16/2013 Benchmark Blasterz visited it