Century-Old Tyler Depot Gets Historic Landmark Designation
cotton belt depot, culture, historic preservation, national historic landmark, renovation,
Tyler’s historic Cotton Belt Depot turned 100 years old in June 2005‚ and the city celebrated by unveiling a plaque establishing the depot as a National Historic Landmark.
“We had old fire engines‚ a 3K run and an old period-dress costume contest‚” says Marianne Unk‚ office manager for Tyler Transit‚ which is housed in the depot. “Senior citizens played bingo‚ and we had 10-cent hot dogs and 5-cent Cokes.”
The 1905 Cotton Belt Depot – donated to the city of Tyler by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1988 – underwent an extensive restoration from 1998 to 2003. The restoration was funded by a half-cent sales tax‚ federal grants and a grant from the Vaughn Foundation.
Tyler Transit moved into the depot in July 2003 and began receiving donations of model trains and other rail-related memorabilia. The artifacts are displayed in an exhibit at the depot‚ and the makeshift railroad museum attracts railroad buffs from miles away.
“This is a working office‚ but we had the opportunity to take in all these awesome pieces of history‚” Unk says. “They are real treasures.”
Among the treasures is a model train collection valued at $200‚000 that was donated by Sharon Bragg‚ the widow of local railroad enthusiast Clyde Bragg.
“Last winter‚ she also loaned us her Dickens Christmas village‚ which had an awesome appeal for the season‚” Unk says. “We had over 100 visitors a day coming to look at it.”
And all the train action isn’t on the inside: As many as a dozen Union Pacific freight trains still pass by the depot every day.
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Antony Boshier
