Saturday, February 09, 2013

Saturday Slight

Good news in today's local paper.  Our historic Amtrak station (only one in Idaho) is slated for a remodal and an eventual re-opening.  

Due to safety concerns, the depot was shut down a few years ago.  Amtrak passengers still get on and off the trains there, but cannot use the indoor facilities.

I think Amtrak's decision to go forward with this remodel is a wonderful gift to Sandpoint.  With the opening of the Byway, the structure sits right next to the roadway and begs to be a shining gem for Sandpoint. 

Good times are surely ahead, once the depot is remodeled and once again open.  

Of course, the structure means a lot to our family because that depot served as our family's official entry to Sandpoint when my mother, my brother and our English setter stepped off the train on Christmas night 1945. 

I loved doing research on the depot for a Sandpoint Magazine story several years ago.  My efforts resulted in the following:  

Besides the rail action around town, there’s plenty of rich history available, including that of the Burlington Northern depot alongside Sand Creek. Termed “palatial” when it opened in November 1916 without its “elaborate” furnishings (lost in transit), the depot was constructed with a fine grade of building brick, capped with a green tile roof — itself costing more than $5,000, according to the Pend Oreille Review. The total construction bill for E.J. Rounds Co. amounted to $22,780.08. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

Hats off to all who have worked over the years to keep this wonderful local gem and now to restore it as a beautiful reminder of Sandpoint's past. 

~~~~It's a quiet Saturday morning here.  I thoroughly enjoyed my morning walk, which involved a few segments right down the middle of Selle Road.  

Only one car passed me through the entire walk. 

~~~~We (Bill, Debbie and I) enjoyed watching Willie's game last night and then headed off to Mick Duff's for dinner and some fun visiting with the Olins and Fuquas.  

Of course, memories of the good ol' days with revolving-door principals at Sandpoint High and sleeping superintendents came up.  

As Patsy said, a lot has changed for the better since those crazy days, and we've all survived. 

Today seems like a good day to do a little grooming on my horses, and I'll probably do some other outdoor projects before getting together with my sisters for tonight's ZAGS game. 

Just a typical, uneventful Saturday, and that seems okay to me.

Have a great day.  GO ZAGS

4 comments:

laurie said...

I love this old train station and am so glad to hear it will be opening its doors again. Enjoy the game tonight!

Anonymous said...

Is this the depot that was at the end of the bridge or the one out where you used to live? Hmmm. Guessing the one in town. I took the train many, many times while in college and remember both depots well. I think the other one (Great Northern?) is where we picked up and dropped off my grandmother when I was quite young.
Janet

Niall Harran said...

"that depot served as our family's official entry to Sandpoint when my mother, my brother and our English setter stepped off the train on Christmas night 1945."

Where are your family from originally Marianne?

Marianne Love said...

Janet, the depot is the one at the end of the Cedar Street Bridge. It was on the Northern Pacific line, while the Great Northern was over off from West Main, and, of course, the old SI/Union Pacific had a little building there by Foster's Crossing.

Niall, my parents were born in Chicago, and my mother lived most of her younger life in Michigan. Her Irish roots trace back to your neck of the woods in Donegal, while my father's family came from Ballyhalhill in County Kerry.