Waseca, Minnesota Minneapolis & St. Louis Depot
Waseca, Minnesota Minneapolis & St. Louis Depot
Waseca Minnesota’s Minneapolis & St. Louis Depot was built by the M&StL in 1912. A previous 1887 Union Depot that the M&StL and Chicago & North Western had been sharing burned down, necessitating new depots for both railroads. They each decided to go it alone, and they built their own depots.
The new M&StL depot was built with light-colored Chaska brick. Some people surmised that was because of Chaska brick's reputation for being fire resistant. The new CNW depot, however, was built with red brick and both depots are still standing today in the 21st century.
The depot was in service until 1959. It was sold in 1960 and restored to become Waseca Depot Liquor, which operated until 2000.
After the liquor store closed, the community began lobbying to have it restored. It was showing its age and the structure also needed to be stabilized.
The City of Waseca bought it in 2000, and the Waseca M&StL Depot Society was formed in 2002 to start renovations. When the main driver behind the restoration effort, Mayor Tom Hagen, was called to active military duty in 2003, the restoration fizzled.
In 2007 the depot was listed on the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota’s “10 Most Endangered Properties” list, which generated the attention that the old depot needed.
The City of Waseca worked out an arrangement with a couple who had the restoration job finished. In October 2007, the couple opened Zinnia’s Boutique, which is still in operation.
