Property Record
1402 LIBERTY ST / 1423 State St
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Racine Depot |
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| Other Name: | Racine Station of the Chicago & NorthWestern Railroad |
| Contributing: | |
| Reference Number: | 16373 |
| Location (Address): | 1402 LIBERTY ST / 1423 State St |
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| County: | Racine |
| City: | Racine |
| Township/Village: | |
| Unincorporated Community: | |
| Town: | |
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| Year Built: | 1901 |
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| Additions: | |
| Survey Date: | 20061975 |
| Historic Use: | depot |
| Architectural Style: | Colonial Revival/Georgian Revival |
| Structural System: | |
| Wall Material: | Brick |
| Architect: | FROST AND GRANGER |
| Other Buildings On Site: | |
| Demolished?: | No |
| Demolished Date: |
| National/State Register Listing Name: | Racine Depot |
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| National Register Listing Date: | 10/10/1980 |
| State Register Listing Date: | 1/1/1989 |
| National Register Multiple Property Name: |
| Additional Information: | A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, State Historic Preservation Office. The Racine Depot was designed by Charles Sumner Frost and Alfred Hoyt Granger, and erected in 1901-1902.23 It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It should be noted that the nomination included both the depot and its companion waiting room on the west side of the tracks. That west waiting room, however, is today owned apart from the station itself and is in deteriorating condition. It has been separately listed as a City of Racine Landmark. The main waiting room featured oak beamed ceilings, wide arched windows, oak benches, wooden paneling on the lower half of the walls, terrazzo tile floors, and a bubbler. To the south of the waiting room were the restrooms, including a smoking room for men and a resting room for women. South of this area was the baggage room. A ticket window separated the waiting room from the office. On the east side, a carriage porch provided protection from the elements when passengers were picked up. An underground tunnel allowed passengers to safely cross to the west platform to board the north bound train. When this depot was completed, at a cost of $60,000, it was considered one of the finest stations in Wisconsin. Theodore Roosevelt's campaign train made a stop in Racine; FDR's train passed through during World War I; and Truman's campaign train stopped in 1948. Most importantly, this depot was a gateway to and from other places for the people of Racine County. As many as twenty-six trains a day once stopped at this depot during the 1920s. Beginning in 1935, the famous "400" passenger trains stopped at Racine. They regularly reached speeds of 115 miles per hour north and south of the city. Train service to Racine ended in April 1971, when Amtrak assumed the duties for intercity rail passenger service. In 2003, the Racine Common Council hired Isthmus Architecture of Madison to develop plans to restore the depot for use with the Racine Metro Transit Center. |
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| Bibliographic References: | RACINE JOURNAL TIMES 6/12/1994. Racine Journal Times 7/22/2003. "Century Buildings for 2010," Preservation Racine, Inc., Newsletter, Summer 2010. Renewing Our Roots: The Northside, Racine, Wisconsin, Preservation-Racine, Inc., not dated. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |