Boise Union Pacific Depot

The Boise Depot is a former train station in the western United States, located in Boise, Idaho. Opened 100 years ago in 1925, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). At an elevation of 2,753 feet (839 m) above sea level on the rim of the first bench, the depot overlooks Capitol Boulevard and the Idaho State Capitol, one mile (1.6 km) to the northeast.

Boise Depot
Former Amtrak & Union Pacific inter-city rail station
View from northeast in 2006
General information
Location	2603 West Eastover Terrace Boise, Idaho[1] United States
Owned by	City of Boise
Line(s)	None
Platforms	1 side platform
Tracks	1
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Accessible	Yes
Other information
Station code	BOI (Amtrak)
History
Opened	April 16, 1925; 100 years ago (1925-04-16)[2]
Closed	May 1997 (for passenger rail service)
Rebuilt	1993 (renovation)
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Nampa toward Seattle Pioneer Shoshone 1981–1997 toward Chicago Mountain Home 1977–1981 toward Chicago Preceding station Union Pacific Railroad Following station Perkins toward Portland Portland – Granger Hillcrest toward Granger
Union Pacific Mainline Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Coordinates	43.602°N 116.2147°W / 43.602; -116.2147
Area	8.7 acres (3.5 ha)
Built	1925; 100 years ago (1925)
Architect	Cherdron Construction Company, Carrere, Hastings, Shreve & Lamb
Architectural style	Spanish Colonial
NRHP reference No.	74000730[3][4]
Added to NRHP	August 7, 1974
Location

History

The depot was built in 1925 by the Union Pacific Railroad, and service by its Portland Rose began with service between Chicago, Illinois, and Portland, Oregon.^[5] Thousands attended its debut with mainline service in mid-April,^[6] including Union Pacific president Carl Gray, granted a key to the city by Mayor Eugene Sherman.^[2][7]

The UP's City of Portland also Chicago to Portland, for several decades made stops in Boise.^[8] 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 began operating.^{[5][9][10][11][excessive citations]}

Six years later, Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation) resumed passenger service to the station in 1977 with the Pioneer,^[12][13] Initially run between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Seattle, Washington, 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,^[13] but that station was dropped in 1981,^[14] so the next eastbound stop was Shoshone; the next westbound stop was Nampa.^[13]

Forty-nine years after its debut, the Boise Depot was listed on the NRHP on August 7, 1974, as the Union Pacific Mainline Depot.^[15] The last passenger train to use the depot was the Pioneer, which ended service 28 years ago in 1997.^[11][16]

In 1990, Boise-based Morrison–Knudsen Corporation (MK) purchased the depot and renovated it to pristine condition.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• National Register of Historic Places portal

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Ada County, Idaho