Burlington Railroad Passenger Depot

The Pacific Northwest was linked by rail to the Gulf of Mexico in 1914, when the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, led by James J. Hill, completed a line from Billings, Montana down to the northern end of the existing Colorado & Southern Railroad. The culminating, historic splice was made near Orin Junction, Wyoming. At Douglas, ten miles to the northwest, August 13, 1914 was the day the railway came to town, its arrival heralded by local residents as a catalyst to further economic growth. One year later, a new Burlington Railroad Passenger Depot was opened for business in Douglas, conveniently situated near the west edge of the business district, and just one block from the newly-constructed LaBonte Hotel. The local press reported that the Depot contained “a handsomely finished office, a commodious general waiting room and separate waiting rooms for men and women, with everything conveniently arranged and finished in the most approved style.” Unlike its spartan counterpart for the FE&MV Railroad, the Burlington Depot reflects the confidence railway officials had in the now relatively well-established town of Douglas. The Depot soon became a local landmark and locus of activity within the city, and handled daily passenger traffic for several decades. In the mid-1960’s, service to Douglas was discontinued, and since then the building has been occupied intermittently by a variety of commercial tenants—and has, accordingly, been subject to a succession of interior remodels. But the exterior of the sturdy masonry and concrete structure has retained its overall physical integrity. Moreover—although windows and doors have been boarded within the west wall adjacent to the tracks, and a large commercial sign affixed to the roof—at the north and south walls, original signboards attached to the eaves still spell out in uppercase, railroad-approved type, the seven letters that were once anticipated by passengers from points northwest, and from points southeast: DOU G L A S .