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Duluth Missabe and Iron Range Depot (Endion)
Encyclopedia
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range
Endion Depot is a historic railroad depot in Duluth, Minnesota
. The station was formerly located at the corner of South Street and 15th Avenue East, but due to the extension of Interstate 35
along the shore of Lake Superior
in 1985, the building was relocated to the Canal Park
area.
The Duluth and Iron Range Railroad originally built its line from Duluth to Two Harbors
in 1886. Endion was originally a small settlement outside of Duluth, but Duluth later absorbed Endion and other small communities surrounding it. The railroad stop at Endion was its first stop after it left Duluth. The railroad built the depot in 1899 to satisfy the demand for a depot for passenger and freight services in the neighborhood. At its peak, the depot served six incoming and outgoing trains per day. In 1938, the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad merged with the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad, with the name of Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway as the result. With the decline in passenger railroad service, the depot stopped serving passenger traffic in 1961. It continued to serve freight until 1978, when it was closed.
The building is architecturally significant because it was one of the last remaining small passenger depots in Duluth. It features fine brick and stone architectural detailing and craftsmanship. The stone came from the Kettle River
quarries near Sandstone, Minnesota
. The building is designed with projecting gable
s that form a transept
. Its architect, I. Vernon Hill, went on to have a distinctive impact on the architecture of Duluth in the early 20th century, using the projecting gables as a trademark. The design is a variation on the Richardsonian Romanesque
style popular in the 1880s and 1890s, though its small scale is less imposing than larger Richardsonian Romanesque buildings.
The building is now used for an adventure travel company and store specializing in kayaking, climbing, and cross-country skiing.
Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway
The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway is a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that hauls iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota...
Endion Depot is a historic railroad depot in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. The station was formerly located at the corner of South Street and 15th Avenue East, but due to the extension of Interstate 35
Interstate 35
Interstate 35 is a north–south Interstate Highway in the central United States. I-35 stretches from Laredo, Texas, on the U.S.-Mexico border to Duluth, Minnesota, at Minnesota Highway 61 and 26th Avenue East. Many interstates used to have splits or spurs indicated with suffixed letters , but I-35...
along the shore of Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
in 1985, the building was relocated to the Canal Park
Canal Park (Duluth)
Canal Park is a tourist and recreation-oriented district of Duluth, Minnesota, United States. Situated across the Interstate 35 freeway from Downtown Duluth, it is connected by the famous Aerial Lift Bridge to the Park Point sandbar and neighborhood...
area.
The Duluth and Iron Range Railroad originally built its line from Duluth to Two Harbors
Two Harbors, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,613 people, 1,636 households, and 953 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,120.7 people per square mile . There were 1,631 housing units at an average density of 505.9 per square mile...
in 1886. Endion was originally a small settlement outside of Duluth, but Duluth later absorbed Endion and other small communities surrounding it. The railroad stop at Endion was its first stop after it left Duluth. The railroad built the depot in 1899 to satisfy the demand for a depot for passenger and freight services in the neighborhood. At its peak, the depot served six incoming and outgoing trains per day. In 1938, the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad merged with the Duluth, Missabe and Northern Railroad, with the name of Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway as the result. With the decline in passenger railroad service, the depot stopped serving passenger traffic in 1961. It continued to serve freight until 1978, when it was closed.
The building is architecturally significant because it was one of the last remaining small passenger depots in Duluth. It features fine brick and stone architectural detailing and craftsmanship. The stone came from the Kettle River
Kettle River (Minnesota)
The Kettle is a tributary of the St. Croix River, about 80 mi long, in eastern Minnesota in the United States. Via the St. Croix River, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River. The river's English name is due to the large number of large rounded holes in the sandstone in and around...
quarries near Sandstone, Minnesota
Sandstone, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,549 people, 580 households, and 359 families residing in the city. The population density was 292.5 people per square mile . There were 634 housing units at an average density of 119.7 per square mile...
. The building is designed with projecting gable
Gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of a sloping roof. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system being used and aesthetic concerns. Thus the type of roof enclosing the volume dictates the shape of the gable...
s that form a transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
. Its architect, I. Vernon Hill, went on to have a distinctive impact on the architecture of Duluth in the early 20th century, using the projecting gables as a trademark. The design is a variation on the Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque
Richardsonian Romanesque is a style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after architect Henry Hobson Richardson, whose masterpiece is Trinity Church, Boston , designated a National Historic Landmark...
style popular in the 1880s and 1890s, though its small scale is less imposing than larger Richardsonian Romanesque buildings.
The building is now used for an adventure travel company and store specializing in kayaking, climbing, and cross-country skiing.