Save Potter Station
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SAVE POTTER STREET STATION
History of the Station
The former Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Depot is the largest Late Victorian, pre-Richardsonian Romanesque depot in Michigan. It was designed by Bradford L. Gilbert, one of the nation's leading railroad station architects in the late nineteenth century. The depot also has historical significance for Saginaw for serving as the city's primary passenger station for over eighty years. The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company was organized on January 21, 1857 to build and operate a railroad line from Flint through Saginaw to Pere Marquette (now Ludington). The laying of track began on the bank of the Saginaw River just west of the existing depot on August 19, 1859.
The original, small depot stood on the north side of Potter Street just west of the west end of the present depot where the current freight warehouse stands. Potter Street itself is almost certainly named in honor of Dr. Henry C. Potter, one of the most prominent figures in the railroad's early development and its long-time general manager.
The structure was designed by New York architect Bradford L. Gilbert (1853-1911). Gilbert, born in Watertown, New York, the son of a civil engineer, learned the practice of architecture from New York architect J. Cleveland Cady, for whom he went to work in 1872. The East Saginaw depot, opened in 1881, must have been one of Gilbert's early commissions as an independently practicing architect. The Flint and Pere Marquette's bread and butter was the logging industry. The line passed through what became in the 1870s and 80s one of the greatest lumber-producing regions in the country. For the lumber towns and camps, it passed, the railroad was an important means of transporting supplies, products, and personnel. The Flint and Pere Marquette Depot built only a year or two before the peak of the lumbering boom in the Saginaw Valley, when lumber production on the river exceeded one billion board feet per year, certainly served many of the thousands of lumberjacks who passed through Saginaw by train each year in the late fall and early winter on their way to the logging.
Passenger service to the depot under the auspices of the Flint and Pere Marquette and subsequently the Pere Marquette and finally the New York Central railroad continued until 1963 or 1964. The depot housed some CSX Transportation, Inc. offices until 1986. Since that time the building has been unoccupied. On December 19, 1989, CSX Transportation, Inc. sold the depot to the Saginaw Depot Preservation Corporation, a non-profit organization, which hopes to refurbish the structure. On April 16-17, 1991, fire destroyed the depot's roof and badly damaged the second story.
Goal
We need to fix the holes in the roof of the building to prevent further damage to the building. We have estimates on the cost of the roof, and have experts willing to help make sure the repairs hold up!
Vision of the Building
Recent interest by other transportation groups, namely the Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Service (STARS) bus system is studying the feasibility of locating their main operations in a portion of the depot, making it a transportation hub.
The Potter Street Station can once again be a beacon of the strength of Saginaw with your help!
History of the Station
The former Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Depot is the largest Late Victorian, pre-Richardsonian Romanesque depot in Michigan. It was designed by Bradford L. Gilbert, one of the nation's leading railroad station architects in the late nineteenth century. The depot also has historical significance for Saginaw for serving as the city's primary passenger station for over eighty years. The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad Company was organized on January 21, 1857 to build and operate a railroad line from Flint through Saginaw to Pere Marquette (now Ludington). The laying of track began on the bank of the Saginaw River just west of the existing depot on August 19, 1859.
The original, small depot stood on the north side of Potter Street just west of the west end of the present depot where the current freight warehouse stands. Potter Street itself is almost certainly named in honor of Dr. Henry C. Potter, one of the most prominent figures in the railroad's early development and its long-time general manager.
The structure was designed by New York architect Bradford L. Gilbert (1853-1911). Gilbert, born in Watertown, New York, the son of a civil engineer, learned the practice of architecture from New York architect J. Cleveland Cady, for whom he went to work in 1872. The East Saginaw depot, opened in 1881, must have been one of Gilbert's early commissions as an independently practicing architect. The Flint and Pere Marquette's bread and butter was the logging industry. The line passed through what became in the 1870s and 80s one of the greatest lumber-producing regions in the country. For the lumber towns and camps, it passed, the railroad was an important means of transporting supplies, products, and personnel. The Flint and Pere Marquette Depot built only a year or two before the peak of the lumbering boom in the Saginaw Valley, when lumber production on the river exceeded one billion board feet per year, certainly served many of the thousands of lumberjacks who passed through Saginaw by train each year in the late fall and early winter on their way to the logging.
Passenger service to the depot under the auspices of the Flint and Pere Marquette and subsequently the Pere Marquette and finally the New York Central railroad continued until 1963 or 1964. The depot housed some CSX Transportation, Inc. offices until 1986. Since that time the building has been unoccupied. On December 19, 1989, CSX Transportation, Inc. sold the depot to the Saginaw Depot Preservation Corporation, a non-profit organization, which hopes to refurbish the structure. On April 16-17, 1991, fire destroyed the depot's roof and badly damaged the second story.
Goal
We need to fix the holes in the roof of the building to prevent further damage to the building. We have estimates on the cost of the roof, and have experts willing to help make sure the repairs hold up!
Vision of the Building
Recent interest by other transportation groups, namely the Saginaw Transit Authority Regional Service (STARS) bus system is studying the feasibility of locating their main operations in a portion of the depot, making it a transportation hub.
The Potter Street Station can once again be a beacon of the strength of Saginaw with your help!
Organizer
Jacob Way
Organizer
Saginaw, MI
Saginaw Depot Preservation Corp0Rat Ion
Beneficiary