From the 1880s to the 1950s, trains assured Butte’s survival by transporting everything from passengers and mail to ore. This marvelous depot, with its 95-foot clock tower, was constructed in 1916 to serve passenger trains of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway, or “Milwaukee Road.” The station consisted of a head house for passenger services and a baggage/express building connected by a glass vestibule. St. Louis pressed brick, marble floors, and oak-and-burlap paneling added interior elegance to the 160 tons of structural steel used in the construction of the complex. Electrically powered engines brought no dirt, dust, or smoke into the station, earning it a reputation as a “model of cleanliness.” The depot ceased its original function when train travel diminished in the 1950s. Home of KXLF television since 1957, the depot was one of Butte’s first major restoration projects in the 1970s. It is today an excellent example of preservation and adaptive reuse.
Images
