Project: In
order to provide signage at the Depot site during the construction phase, the BHPA
could
have made one or two temporary signs professional made and placed.
This sign could be make as economically as possible with plans to replace
them with something more permanent and vandal proof in the future.
This sign (these signs) could be either mounted used two poles (about 5-feet
tall) or mounted directly to the side of the depot.
Suggestion: The Sign Depot, here in Blair, can produce a sign for about $150. This would be mounted on 5mm AlumaCorr, 48" H x 35" W. This would not include mounting poles.
Possible Timeline: (estimated 2-3 weeks)
Production: Need to finalize text & design, order & produce sign, and mount or set poles. We may request the original photo postcard from Pat Tripp to obtain and better high res scan of the image.
In 1880, Blair constructed this, the second in its series of three train depots. The 1880 depot was originally located at what is now 14th and Front, approximately the same location as the 1910 brick depot still remembered by community members today. Built to replace the original depot known as the Blair House Hotel & Depot that was located west of 16th Street and north of the railroad tracks, the 1880 Depot was constructed at the crossroads of the north-south tracks of the old Chicago St. Paul Minneapolis & Omaha line (CStPM&O) and the east-west racks of the Sioux City & Pacific line (S.C. & P.) After the construction of the 1910 Depot, the 1880 Depot was moved a few hundred yards to the west where it was used for storage. It was later moved north of the tracks and west of Walker Avenue, now 16th Street, where it stood forgotten by all but railroad buffs and historians.
In 2007, the Blair Historic Preservation Alliance partnered with the City of Blair to bring the 1880 Depot here to its present location in Lions Park at the corner of 15th and Nebraska to become a picnic pavilion and history center.
Originally the 1880 Depot was built at the crossroads of the north-south tracks of the old Chicago St. Paul Minneapolis & Omaha line (CStPM&O) and the east-west tracks of the Sioux City & Pacific line (S.C. & P), approximately at the same location as the 1910 brick depot that many members of the community remember at Front and 14th streets. This 1880 depot was the second depot in Blair, taking over the function of the three-story Blair House Hotel & Depot built in 1869 that was located west of 16th Street and north of the railroad tracks. The 1880 depot was moved west a few hundred feet to the west and used for storage and freight after the 1910 depot was built. Later it was again moved north across the tracks and west across Walker Avenue (today 16th Street) and stood basically unnoticed by most except railroad buffs and historians.
Through the efforts of the Blair Historic Preservation Alliance and the City of Blair, the depot has again been moved to a new location in Lions Park at the corner of Nebraska and 15th Streets where it will take on a new a role as picnic pavilion and history center.