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(rshsdepot) Nashua, IA
Nashua to turn old train depot into welcome center
http://www.wcfcourier.com/articles/2004/05/28/news/regional/8a8d7e791ffbf83886256ea2004b1933.txt
By KAREN HEINSELMAN, Courier Staff Writer
NASHUA --- Residents working on the town's welcome center project think returning a dilapidated train depot in town to its original 1916 state is the ticket.
Relocating and renovating the old railroad house to be the new Avenue of Saints welcome center will be an economic boon for cities along the northern stretch of the interstate, committee members said.
"We want it to be something unique in itself just to stop and visit," banker Brad Baldwin, a member of the spearheading committee. "Because of the history behind it."
The wooden depot now used for storage at the corner of Jay and Madison streets is a far cry from both a bustling passenger stop on the Illinois Central Railroad and a modern-day tourist venue. Windows are boarded and a 1956 Chevy sits in the luggage bay.
But Nashua residents endeared to the depot see the vacated building for what it was and what it can be: a piece of Chickasaw County history and a teaching tool.
"It is kind of a landmark," former Nashua City Council member Glenn Hatzky said. "There's a lot of kids right here in Nashua that never have seen the inside of a depot."
In January, Nashua won the right to build a state-sanctioned welcome center along U.S. 218. Floyd and Charles City were the other contenders. Nashua's citizens committee, however, needs to come up with $500,000 for the makeover.
Boards of supervisors in Floyd and Chickasaw counties each allocated $25,000 to the project.
The city is applying for Vision Iowa's Community Attraction and Tourism grant and Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino's Revitalization Assistance for Community Improvement Grant. Officials also are seeking hotel-motel tax revenue from Floyd and Charles City.
The city of Nashua will provide water, sewer and maintenance.
Now the group is kicking off a fund-raising campaign for local match dollars.
True, Nashua could build a structure from scratch. Starting fresh would probably cost less, not counting the possibility of specialized grant money, said City Clerk Becky Neal.
But that's not original. Committee members see the railroad-themed welcome center as a long-range benefit to Nashua and area towns.
"The whole idea was to be the Northeast Iowa welcome center," Baldwin said.
"Not just the Nashua welcome center," Neal added.
In 2002, Independence celebrated the revitalization of its 100-plus-year-old train depot. Last year, the volunteer-run depot saw 1,680 visitors, some from overseas.
"You get a lot of railroad buffs coming through that thoroughly enjoy it," said Carol O'Brien, office manager for Buchanan County Tourism Bureau.
In Buchanan, volunteers fund-raised and poured hours into the renovation project. The station now sits on Iowa Highway 150 North in Independence.
Nashua's two-story center will overlook the Cedar Lake and a park area. Depot owner Lee Stumme of Dysart, who has ownership of the depot, is offering it to the city for the project.
Inside, the improved depot will have visitor brochures and a fallout shelter and typical welcome center amenities.
The exterior, however, will mirror the 1916 train station. That means extending the roughly 55-foot depot to its original length of 76 feet. Years ago, about a third of the original structure was sawed off to make way for Madison Street.
"We're going to have to put that back on," Hatzky said.
An architect assured the Nashua officials the depot is sound enough to survive a move from its current home a block east of Main Street to a site near the exit off U.S. Highway 218.
In the early 1900s, Nashua residents petitioned the railroad to build Nashua a new passenger depot to replace a 1868 freight and passenger station in town.
With some loving care, residents said the 1916 depot could again be just what the Nashua area needs to take another step forward.
"I really think it's going to be a good thing," Neal said.
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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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