The Union Depot is a former

train station A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...

, located at 637 E. Michigan Avenue in Lansing, Michigan. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1995. Despite the union name,

Grand Trunk Western The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company is an American subsidiary of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holdi ...

trains stopped at a different station in Lansing 1.5 miles away.

History

The first railroad through Lansing was the

Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad The Amboy, Lansing and Traverse Bay Railroad is a defunct railroad which operated in the state of Michigan during the 1850s and 1860s. Initially planned as an ambitious land grant railroad which would run the length of the Lower Peninsula of Michig ...

, which arrived in 1863. The Jackson & Lansing Railroad followed in 1864, and in 1871 the Michigan Central Railroad began leasing these lines. Michigan Central constructed a wooden passenger depot at this spot in 1873. The depot also served the

Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Rail Road The Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad (DL&LM) is a defunct railroad which built and operated the first rail line between Detroit and the state capital Lansing. Though the corporation was short-lived, much of the route it placed in servic ...

, which had constructed tracks through Lansing in 1868. In 1900, this line was consolidated into the

Pere Marquette Railroad The Pere Marquette Railway operated in the Great Lakes region of the United States and southern parts of Ontario in Canada. It had trackage in the states of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana and the Canadian province of Ontario. Its primary connections in ...

. However, also by 1900, the wooden depot was proving inadequate to service both the Michigan Central and Pere Marquette Railways, and the two companies jointly decided to replace the station in 1901. The Detroit architectural firm of

Spier and Rohns Spier, Rohns & Gehrke was a noted Detroit, Michigan architectural firm operated by Frederick H. Spier and William C. Rohns, best remembered for designs of churches and railroad stations. These were frequently executed in the Richardson Romanesque s ...

, which planned many Michigan Central stations, designed the station. Construction began in late 1901, and was finished in 1902. The combined depot served both lines for decades, but with the increase in automobile traffic, ridership declined. The

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mid ...

, the successor to Michigan Central, ceased its remaining passenger service (

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

-Lansing-

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

- Bay City) in 1959. The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, the successor to the Pere Marquette, continued passenger service to Lansing (on the Grand Rapids-

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

circuit) only due to the threat of legal action, and when

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

took over passenger trains, they ended service to Lansing in 1971. The depot remained vacant for several years. In 1978, restaurateur Peter Jubeck bought the building and transformed it into Clara's Lansing Station. Retaining the quarter-sawn oak interior and installing locally crafted stained glass windows, the restaurant has a unique and historical atmosphere. In 1994, Jubeck purchased an old Pullman sleeper rail car, renovating it, and attaching to the building, opening it in 1999 to add more seating space. Clara's Lansing Station was the sister restaurant of Clara's on the River located in the Michigan Central Depot in

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

. The restaurant closed on June 26, 2016 after 38 years of operation. Later that year the building was purchased by Lansing-based Gillespie Group with plans to preserve the station for future reuse.

Description

The Lansing Union Depot is a single-story, hip-roof

Tudor Revival Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...

building with walls finished in light brown Roman pressed brick ad limestone. It sits on a concrete foundation, with limestone above, up to the level of the window sills. The depot measures 149 feet in length and 35 feet in width. The roof, originally covered with clay tiles but now covered with asphalt shingles, has wide eaves supported with brackets. Semi-round towers on one side are topped with conical roofs.

References

External links

Michigan Historical Marker entry for the Union Depot

Official page of Clara's Restaurants
{{Lansing-East Lansing National Register of Historic Places in Lansing, Michigan Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Michigan

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

Railway stations in the United States opened in 1902 Railway stations closed in 1972 Lansing, Michigan Former railway stations in Michigan Economy of Lansing, Michigan Transportation in Lansing, Michigan Spier & Rohns buildings

1902 establishments in Michigan 1972 disestablishments in Michigan