MEMORIAL WALL on Centennial Plaza at the Madison Depot lists people and organizations who donated to the depot's restoration. The building has undergone some recent updates, which will be highlighted at an open house on Wednesday.
Madison's Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad depot has stood the test of time for more than 110 years.
It was built in July 1906 at 315 S. Egan Ave. and has played a pivotal role in the history of Madison ever since.
The depot was an important stop for passenger and freight trains and was the largest employer in Madison during that time, providing jobs for nearly 200 people.
Over the years, the need for trains decreased due to improved technology and transportation methods, and the depot had to deal with labor disputes and cut down on the number of workers.
In 1980, the last Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul train came through Madison, and the depot's train days were over.
That was not the end of the usefulness of the building, however. The building continues to "welcome all," said Rosie Jamison, Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce executive director.
According to Julie Gross, executive director of the Lake Area Improvement Corporation, "The Chamber bought this building [from the railroad], but as time went on...the city took it over.
``They did a renovation and redid the whole thing," Gross said, "[making] it into offices for the Chamber and the LAIC and...a community room."
Some railroad memorabilia is housed in the community room to remember the building's history.
"It has been a great home for the LAIC and the Chamber," she said. "We love our partnership with the city, that we get to reside in their building, and we try to be good stewards of everything."
Five or six years ago, the city did tuckpointing on the outside of the building and put on a new roof, necessary as nothing had been done since the original renovation, Gross said.
"We painted it and put in new carpeting, and it was really nice to have done," she said.
The city is responsible for the exterior, Jamison said; the Chamber and LAIC take care of the interior.
More changes have taken place in recent months, including new office equipment provided by the Madison hospital and new window blinds.
Other work was more labor -ntensive, such as refinishing the wood floor in the community room and tuckpointing the memorial brick wall in the building's front green space. The wall lists all of the people and organizations which have donated to the depot's restoration.
This green area is called "Centennial Plaza," to remember the "first 100 years of transportation in South Dakota," the plaque on the building reads.
A 2016 improvement the city has made throughout the downtown Egan area is new exterior LED street lamps, which "complement the historic depot," said Jamison.
"If you're a Chamber member, you use it for free, so a lot of people use it for one-hour meetings or one-day meetings," Gross said.
"We have a lot of people who use it for graduation parties or...baby showers," she added. "It's a community room owned, really, by the community."
These changes and improvements will be celebrated with a community open house on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at the depot.