Historical Walking Tour of Whitefish, Montana
Built by the Great Northern Railway in 1927, the Whitefish Depot is not only a local landmark but is recognized fondly by hundred of thousands of people who have passed through Whitefish by train over the years. The building's chalet-style architecture and gardens that surround it create a distinctive Whitefish "trademark."The railroad's decision to construct a 36-by-150-foot building, to replace a much smaller depot at the north end of Central Avenue, occasioned a banner headline in the Whitefish Pilot in August, 1927. The three-story structure - one story for the depot and two for offices - would cost about $60,000. Butler Construction Co. of Seattle won the contract.In the late 1980's, Whitefish almost lost its famous depot when the railroad, by then the Burlington Northern, decided to scrap it. But the Stumptown Historical Society, a group formed by local folks to preserve the town's history, refused to let it go. The Society bought the building for $1 and then raised $800,000 to renovate it, much of the work done by Whitefish volunteers. The Society uses rental fees from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Amtrak and a few office tenants to maintain the depot. In 2002, the Society had the building repainted in historically correct colors, a project that cost three-fourth as much as the entire 1927 construction cost.
More than 50,000 people pass through the depot each year.
[Photo caption:] Two views, taken in 1927, showing the original depot north of the new building under construction.Sponsored by the Stumptown Historical Society and the Whitefish Community Foundation.
| HM Number | HMXE7 |
|---|---|
| Tags | |
| Placed By | Stumptown Historical Society |
| Marker Condition | No reports yet |
| Date Added | Monday, September 1st, 2014 at 9:36am PDT -07:00 |
| UTM (WGS84 Datum) | 11U E 697151 N 5365705 |
|---|---|
| Decimal Degrees | 48.41363333, -114.33558333 |
| Degrees and Decimal Minutes | N 48° 24.818', W 114° 20.135' |
| Degrees, Minutes and Seconds | 48° 24' 49.08" N, 114° 20' 8.10" W |
| Driving Directions | Google Maps |
| Area Code(s) | 406 |
| Closest Postal Address | At or near 113-207 Jefferson St, Ennis MT 59937, US |
| Alternative Maps | Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap |
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