Why Bernie Sanders is Speaking at the Old Train Depot in Bismarck
The old train depot parking lot will be transformed into a Bernie Sanders rally spot tomorrow evening.
bismarckhistory.org
Property owner, Dale Zimmerman says three of Bernie Sanders team members stopped in to eat at Peacock Alley earlier this week. They told Zimmerman they were looking for a place to hold a rally but many of the facilities in the area were booked. Zimmerman recommended the old train depot downtown. The Sanders team called Zimmerman last night saying it was a go.
The depot parking lot was used as a public gathering space many years ago. Zimmerman says he is excited to bring that space back to life.
Gates open for the rally at 6 p.m. on Friday.
Bernie is scheduled to speak at 8. p.m.
http://www.kxnet.com/story/31963467/why-bernie-sanders-is-speaking-at-the-old-train-depot-in-bismarck
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The role of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the founding and development of the Bismarck community was significant. The NP Depot remains as a symbol of that importance.
Completed in December, 1901, at a cost of $33,601, the Northern Pacific Depot is notable for its Spanish mission-style architecture, uncommon on the Northern Plains. The new depot was built on a site that had previously been the location of the 1877 Sheridan House, at one time Bismarck’s leading hotel and the largest building erected in Dakota Territory. The Sheridan House, which had served as both a hotel and railway passenger depot, was moved east across Fifth Street, where it was remodeled and reopened as the Northwest Hotel.
The Northern Pacific Depot’s Spanish mission-style architecture featured a center façade flanked by towers 13 feet square, originally domed and crowned by louvered cupolas with bellcast roofs and finials. The superstructures of these towers (domed roofs, cupolas, and corner caps) were removed in 1954 and replaced by simple peaked tile roofs, producing the effect of Tuscan campaniles. The main entrance of the depot is recessed between the towers within a one-story portico featuring six concrete Tuscan columns.
By 1916, the Northern Pacific Depot was serving 24 passenger trains daily. By 1950, however, Bismarck began to reflect the nationwide decline in railroad traffic. The decline continued throughout the 1970’s as mergers between the Northern Pacific and other railroads eventually created the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe. Ultimately, the Railway Express Agency vacated its quarters in the west end of the Bismarck Depot following a declaration of bankruptcy in 1975. Today the old Northern Pacific Depot is home to the Fiesta Villa Mexican Restaurant.
© 2008-2011 Bismarck Historical Society
http://www.bismarckhistory.org/?id=32
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