(July 2023)
Tim Spitzack
Editor
The two clocks in the Head House at Union Depot have marked the passage of time for a full century, each tick serving as a bridge between the past and the present. Since the depot first opened in 1923 the clocks have been prominently displayed between the stately marbled columns at opposite ends of the expansive room.
Passengers on steam locomotives were the first to glance at the clocks to make sure they had arrived on time to catch their train. The clocks were there as steam gave way to diesel-electric power and when nine railroads jostled for space at the depot. At its peak in the 1920s, nearly 300 trains passed through daily and large numbers of men and women – always dressed in their Sunday best – looked at the clocks as they studied their train schedules.
Fewer eyes were upon the clocks in the 1930s as rail travel decreased during the Great Depression, but they continued ticking, nonetheless. And when the U.S. entered World War II, uniformed men and women anxiously looked at them before departing their homeland for foreign soil.
The clocks ticked as the Baby Boom exploded, as Big Band was overtaken by rock ’n’ roll, and as auto and air travel drew passengers away from the depot in droves. And they continued ticking long after the last train left the station. The golden era of rail travel in St. Paul ended on April 30, 1971, when the Burlington Zephyr departed Union Depot.
But time marches on and the clocks tick on and are now serving a new generation of travelers. Following a $243 million renovation, Union Depot re-opened December 8, 2012, as a multi-modal transportation hub serving Amtrak trains, light rail and bus lines. During the renovation in 2011-2012, extreme care was taken to clean and repair interior pieces of the clocks to ensure they continue serving the public for years to come.
Rail service returned to the depot in 2014 when Amtrak’s Empire Builder arrived on May 7. One would hope that those passengers shunned their cellphone clocks and noticed the historic timepieces that have now served travelers for 100 years. And hopefully travelers today still recognize and use them to meet their departure schedules.
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