Former CGW Railroad Train Passenger Station and District Offices
Chicago Great Western Depot, Red Wing Minnesota
- Categories:
- Minnesota
- Railroad Facility
- Passenger Station
The Chicago Great Western Railroad Depot is one of two substantial Red Wing depots representing the important rail transportation system of the area. The first railroad reached Red Wing in 1870, when the St. Paul and Chicago (later the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific) completed trackage from St. Paul. (This line later provided connections to Chicago via Winona. Its 1905 depot remains in use as an Amtrack station.) In subsequent years, several lines traversed the county and provided local connections between the earlier major lines. The Chicago Great Western acquired two of these lines, the Minnesota Central and the Duluth, Red Wing, and Southern, shortly after the turn of the century, and constructed the two-story brick depot for their divisional headquarters in 1906. The Minnesota Central (or Cannon Valley Road) had been constructed in 1882 from Red Wing westward to Waterville in LeSueur County, and provided local connections in Goodhue County for the agricultural center of Cannon Falls. The Duluth, Red Wing, and Southern had been constructed in 1889 and provided local connections for the town of Zumbrota. The DRW&S had been founded by Red Wing investors with the initial (but unrealized) intention of constructing a line from Duluth to Sioux City via Red Wing. The CGW line was taken over by the Chicago North Western in 1968, and presently handles only local freight traffic. Survival of the Chicago Great Western Depot in Red Wing provides a visible link with the complex sequence of the area's rail development.
Building Description
The Chicago Great Western Depot is located two blocks west of Red Wing's principal business district, in a commercial and industrial area of town a block south of the Mississippi River.
The rectangular two-story red brick structure was built in 1906. The emphasis of the design is on the horizontal, and features a tile hip roof with sharply projecting eaves. Articulation on the smooth brick wall surfaces is limited to projecting brick strips at the four corners and a stone course that circumvents the building beneath the windows. The Main Street facade features a central entry portico supported by square brick columns and capped by a tile hip roof. All window and door openings are rectilinear with stone sills. The north facade (track side) features a two-story bay window and a tile pent roof supported by large wooden brackets. The pent roof extends west of the main building to connect a small one-story hip-roofed structure of similar materials and design. This small building was originally utilized as a baggage room. A similar structure, once connected to the depot on the east, has been removed.
The depot has undergone very little exterior alteration. The interior has undergone a series of changes as it has been adapted to accommodate the various railroad companies it has housed. The first floor originally served as the passenger space and included a large waiting room, a smaller ladies' waiting room, restrooms, and ticket and telegraph offices. The second floor originally housed the district offices of the Chicago Great Western Railroad Company.
The depot was purchased by North Central Food Systems, Inc. who restored the building's exterior and rehabilitated the interior into a restaurant.
South facade 1978 (1980)
North facade (1980)
North facade (1980)
