The Boise Depot is a former
train station
A train station, railroad station, or railway station 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 suc ...
in the
western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, located in
Boise
Boise ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Located on the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and nor ...
,
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...
. Opened in 1925, it is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
(NRHP). At an
elevation
The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...
of above
sea level
Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...
on the rim of the first
bench, the depot overlooks Capitol Boulevard and the
Idaho State Capitol
The Idaho State Capitol in Boise is the home of the government of the U.S. state of Idaho. Although Lewiston briefly served as Idaho's capital city from the formation of the old federal Idaho Territory in 1863, the territorial legislat ...
, to the northeast.
History
The depot was built in 1925 by the
Union Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
, and service by its ''Portland Rose'' began with service between
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
*Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon
*Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine
*Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel
Portland may also r ...
,
Oregon
Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...
.
Thousands attended its debut with mainline service in mid-April,
including Union Pacific president
Carl Gray, granted a
key to the city by
Mayor
In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...
Eugene Sherman.
The UP's '' City of Portland'' also Chicago to Portland, for several decades made stops in Boise. Union Pacific discontinued the ''Portland Rose'' and the ''City of Portland'' (along with all its passenger rail service) on May 1, 1971, the day Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
began operating.
Six years later, Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) resumed passenger service to the station in 1977 with the '' Pioneer'', Initially run between Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah
Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...
, and Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
, Washington
Washington most commonly refers to:
* George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States
* Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A ...
, it was later extended further east and provided daily service from Chicago to Seattle. The next eastbound stop on the ''Pioneer'' was originally in Mountain Home, but that station was dropped in 1981, so the next eastbound stop was Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni ( or ), also known by the endonym Newe, are an Native Americans in the United States, Indigenous people of the United States with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:
* Eastern Shoshone: Wyoming
* Northern Shoshon ...
; the next westbound stop was Nampa.
Forty-nine years after its debut, the Boise Depot was listed on the NRHP on August 7, 1974, as the Union Pacific Mainline Depot. The last passenger train to use the depot was the ''Pioneer'', which ended service in 1997.
In 1990, Boise-based Morrison–Knudsen
Morrison–Knudsen (MK) was an American civil engineering and construction company, with headquarters in Boise, Idaho.
MK designed and constructed major infrastructure throughout the world and was one of the consortium of firms that built Hoover ...
Corporation (MK) purchased the depot and renovated it to pristine condition. The City of Boise took it over in 1996 and opened it for tours and special events; it is open to the public Sundays and Mondays from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm.
See also
*
References
External links
Info on Historic Locomotive on site
City of Boise's Depot webpage
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Boise, Idaho
Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho
Railway stations in the United States opened in 1925
Former Amtrak stations in Idaho
Former Union Pacific Railroad stations
Tourist attractions in Boise, Idaho
Clock towers in Idaho
National Register of Historic Places in Boise, Idaho
Carrère and Hastings buildings
Repurposed railway stations in the United States
Railway stations in the United States closed in 1997