Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Des Moines, Iowa)

41°35′1.360″N 93°37′18.471″W / 41.58371111°N 93.62179750°W / 41.58371111; -93.62179750

Des Moines
Former Rock Island Line passenger rail station
The Rock Island Depot seen on October 26, 2006 at 1:41 PM, Central Daylight Time
General information
Location107 Fourth Street, Des Moines, Iowa 50309
Coordinates41°35′1.360″N 93°37′18.471″W / 41.58371111°N 93.62179750°W / 41.58371111; -93.62179750
Line(s)Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Platforms1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks1 (formerly 4)
Construction
AccessibleNo
Architectural styleBeaux-Arts
History
Opened1901
ClosedMay 31, 1970
Rebuilt1910
Former services
Preceding station Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Following station
Valley Junction Main Line East Des Moines
toward Chicago
Carlisle
toward Teague
TeagueMinneapolis  East Des Moines
Terminus Des Moines – Washington East Des Moines
toward Washington
The Des Moines Rock Island Depot, view from the south, ca. 1910.

The Des Moines Rock Island Depot is a combination passenger and freight pair of buildings in the Beaux-Arts style in downtown Des Moines, Iowa. Construction of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (Rock Island) passenger building was completed in 1901. The building is in the Civic Center Historic District, west of the Des Moines River. A covered freight platform and brick building added in 1910 on the east side of the pair of buildings.[1][2]

An unusual aspect is that it spanned from one building at 107 Fourth Street to an older depot building at 108 Fourth Street, connecting across Fourth Street with a metal arch. The principal building, the passenger station, on the west side of Fourth Street, is a two story brick structure.[2]

The depot was a presidential campaign stop for Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman.[3]

Passenger trains

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The station served Rock Island trains from the north to the south, and from the west to the east. In 1957 passenger trains included: [4]

Decline and modern use

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By 1970, passenger service was a mere single train west (#7) to Council Bluffs and east (#10) to Chicago.[5] Service ended on May 31, 1970; with the end of the Council Bluffs train.[6]

In 1986 the Douglas Wells architectural firm designed the restoration of the building. The western part was used for the Business Record offices, and the freight part, the eastern section, was restored for restaurant use.[1]

The building remains intact today. However, the station-associated tracks, which in the past had been numerous, have been reduced to a single track farther from the station. The nearest passenger train service is in Osceola, 40 miles to the south, where Amtrak's California Zephyr makes a daily westbound and eastbound stop.[citation needed]

In 2023, it was reported that Connie Wimer, who has owned the building since the mid-1980s intended to sell it. The building had been serving as office space for Business Publications Corp., who relocated to a smaller space in Des Moines citing a shift away from in-office work.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b Gauthier, Julia. "Rock Island Depot". Iowa Architectural Foundation. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  2. ^ a b David Gebhard and Gerald Mansheim, Society of Architectural Historians, SAH Archipedia, ‘Rock Island Railroad Depot.’ https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/IA-01-CE127
  3. ^ a b Bolten, Kathy A. (2023-06-02). "Des Moines' iconic Depot to be sold". Business Record. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  4. ^ Rock Island Time Tables, May 1957, Tables 1, 4 http://streamlinermemories.info/RI/RI57TT.pdf
  5. ^ "Rock Island Lines, Table 1". Official Guide of the Railways. 102 (12). National Railway Publication Company. May 1970.
  6. ^ Paul C. Nelson, University of Iowa, ‘Annals of Iowa,’ ca. 1971, “Rise and Decline of the Rock Island Passenger Train in the 20th Century,” Part II, p. 751 https://pubs.lib.uiowa.edu/annals-of-iowa/article/6748/galley/115521/view/