The History of the Union Depot & Depot Crossing Restaurant

The Union Station Depot was completed in 1893 and housed the offices of two intersecting rail lines, the Chicago Rock Island and the Central Railroad of Iowa.

Though the settlement of the town began with J.B. Grinnell’s first purchase of land in 1854, construction of the promised westward extension of the Rock Island Railroad, at that time called the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad, did not reach the town until June of 1863. The north-south extension of the Central Railroad of Iowa finally reached Grinnell in 1869, after much persuasion on the part of J.B. Grinnell. Grinnell himself constructed a third line to connect his city with the Poweshiek County seat in Montezuma.

The first “Union” Depot on this site was roughly constructed of wood and measured only eighteen feet square, serving both railroads. With the ever increasing amount of train traffic, it is not hard to imagine how inadequate the building was in serving both freight and passenger traffic.

By March of 1888 the public clamor for a new depot had begun. The pressure for a modern station continued to increase until finally in January 1893, a new brick “Union Depot” was occupied, Mayors Lewis and Wilson inspected it and pronounced it perfect in all its appointments. From that time until the early 1980’s, when the Rock Island Railroad formally closed and abandoned the depot, it served the people of the town and the students of Grinnell College well as an important means of transportation. Fond memories of the “Old Depot” run deep in the community and in 1993 it was added to the National Historic Register.

For several decades there were three passenger and freight lines that stopped in Grinnell, making the Union Depot at Park Street and Third Avenue a bustling center of activity. The Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad, operating on the east-west tracks, provided direct service from Chicago to Council Bluffs, with two express trains in each direction daily and over 20 regular passenger and freight trains passing the station every day. The great Rock Island Railroad ran this line for over a decade before going bankrupt in the early 1980s. With the departure of the Rock Island passenger and freight line, Grinnell lost its passenger service, and town activity slowly moved away from the railroad junction.

When passenger service to Grinnell was terminated, the Depot was abandoned and stood vacant for several years before being purchases and saved from disrepair by Jewel and her late husband, John Kintzinger who purchased the building in 1993.

Renovations began in the Spring of 1993, and were completed in the Fall of 1995 into the Depot Crossing Restaurant. Since 1995 the restaurant has gone through various renovations with the last renovation occurring early in 2006, with additions to the lounge and kitchen.

It is a source of great pleasure for many people who have fond memories of the Depot to watch the developments of this old friend, serving its new capacity as the restaurant you enjoy today.