Depot (pre-restoration)

History of the Evanston Main Street Train Station

In 1909 the Evanston Index chronicled that five new train stations were to be built that same year. The Davis Street, Dempster Street, Main Street and Calvary Depots were completed in 1909 and the Central Street station not long after. By October 23 the Evanston Index reported the work near completion. Trains were already stopping at the Main Street Depot. In later years Calvary and Dempster Street stations were abandoned and demolished, leaving only Main, Central and Davis Street stations in operation. The oldest of these is the Main Street Depot.

The architects of these station were Frost and Granger and according to the Bureau Of Valuation of the I. C. C. and the valuation made by F. F. Rose on July 16, 1919, the station was built according to their drawings. Other Chicago buildings designed by Frost and Grainger include the Northern Trust Company building, the LaSalle Street Station, the Colisseum and 226 W. Jackson.

The Depots were of the same modified Swiss style of architecture. All were distinctly ornamental and in fine architectural style. Their complete utilitarian and elegant expression of style was used over and over by railroads across the country. With their broad overhangs, long trackside exposures, red brick exteriors, and two story structures, the impression of these buildings can be dramatic. These new buildings, busy train depots bringing commuters to and from Chicago, greatly enhanced the architectural and aesthetic value of Evanston.

As a significant part of the commuting pattern of North Shore residents and the railroad system, the Main Street Depot represents one of the handsomest and most distinctive stations among the group of non-contiguous structures along the track. It also represents an established and familiar visual feature in the neighborhood to passersby and to a thousand commuters each day.

Although the depot rider ship has traveled on the tracks of two different railroads and the rolling stock of two different commuting corporations, the Main Street Depot has remained a viable and vibrant structure from its completion to the present day. In succession it has served the operations of the Chicago Northwestern Railroad and then the combined Union Pacific Railroad and Metra commuter services.

The Depot was also used as a center for cultural activites. One early inhabitant of the depot was a group of model railroaders called Pufferbellies who occupied the upper south waiting room sometime prior to 1982. A fire, which decimated the south waiting room, baggage room and a portion of the ticket office, was noted in the Chicago Tribune in 1982 and caused Pufferbellies to vacate the depot.

For a brief period in 1985 and 1986 the Depot was used by the Custer Street Fair as a storage facility. This event, also known as Custer’s Last Stand, was first established in 1972 by a group of local artisans and retailers along Custer Avenue to the west of the Main Street Depot in south Evanston. Its present executive director, John Szostek, assumed this duty in 1978. The Fair attracts 70,000 people each year and features 450 arts and craft exhibitors, thirty restaurants and three stages for musical/theatrical performances. The Fair itself was inducted into The Illinois Festival Hall of Fame In 1992, was voted as the favorite Art Fair by the readers of North Shore magazine in 1993 and 2001 and was selected to participate in the State of Illinois Best of Fests in 1988.

The organization that was the Custer Street Fair evolved into the Evanston Festival Theatre, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation, in 1985. By that time, the Main Street Depot, had suffered from increasing neglect and was on the brink of demolition. John Szostek, now EFT’s Executive Director, acquired the depot through a long-term lease with The Union Pacific Railroad. He then spearheaded the campaign to restore this magnificent structure to its original architectural eloquence in cooperation with Metra, The Union Pacific Railroad, the City of Evanston and the Evanston Community Foundation.

The large-scale renovation was completed at a cost of $4 million. The extensive refurbishment included reinforcement of the structure's unsteady foundation, stabilization or replacement of well-worn platforms, and restoration of the North waiting room as well as the interior plasterwork and woodwork to their original condition. The building was also made handicapped-accessible through the installation of an elevator and ramps. Finally, in order to enhance its renewed function as a cultural center in South Evanston, a 50-seat theater, studio space, and set construction area replaced the old baggage room, coal room and fire-damaged upper room.

The renovation was completed in 2007. The Piccolo Theatre, which is also managed by Evanston Festival Theatre, Inc., and Custer's Last Stand Festival of the Arts, Inc. are now both headquartered in the renamed Evanston Arts Depot.