(rshsdepot) Berlin, WI

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Renovation of Berlin's historic depot on hold

By Patricia Wolff
of the Northwestern

BERLIN - Chamber of Commerce officials have been working hard to attract
tourists to the city.
They even secured a state grant to entice them by the busfull.
Only problem is that once they get to Berlin, there's no place for a rest
stop.
Certainly, there are shops and restaurants, but no easily-accessible public
bathrooms.
Unless tourists know about the restrooms on the second floor of City Hall,
they'd have a hard time finding accommodations.
Renovation of the historic downtown depot on South Capron Street - where
public bathrooms were to be located - is on hold while the owners of the
building and Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Business Improvement District
officials negotiate a lease price.
Renovations began last summer after chamber officials and the depot owners
made tentative plans for the chamber to rent part of the building and
establish an information center.
The plans fell through after the chamber and the city failed to decide how
much the city would chip in to help cover the costs of maintaining the
information/tourist center.
Chamber officials asked the city to pay for paper products and utilities.
They did not specify a dollar amount, said City Administrator Dennis Jordan.
City officials were unwilling to give the chamber a blank check, so they
asked for cost estimates, Jordan said.
We asked the chamber to get us an idea of the cost. We didn't know if
heating would go $700, $800, or $1,000 (per month), Jordan said.
We asked them to come back with figures. It never happened, Jordan said.
The lack of public restrooms is a problem that was pointed out in a tourism
study of Berlin, according to Annette Hass, who owns the depot with her
husband Eric.
The best scenario for the city is an information center with public
bathrooms. We have bus tours coming in and no bathrooms, said Carol Trampf,
chamber director.
The Hasses are waiting for the city and the chamber to work out the details
of operating the tourist center. Once that's determined, the depot owners
will know how to proceed with the renovation.
From our point of view, (the depot) is still available, Hass said. The
chamber has looked at it again. Now, it's up to the city. It's on their
side, she said.
At this point she's not sure how extensive the renovations will be.
Originally, the Hasses planned to renovate the 1909 vintage building into a
combination retail/professional building with space for local historical
artifacts and the information center.
The depot was once the hub of activity in Berlin. It's been 25 years since
the depot has been a stopping point for trains. Before that, it was the
commercial hub of Berlin during a 100-year span as passenger and freight
trains arrived carrying such goods as beer and grains, and departed with
quarry stone and cranberries.

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #304
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