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Do you have a memory of the Keokuk Union Depot, or a story to tell? Email it to the Depot Commission. |
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Preserving the Historic Keokuk Union Depot |
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The City of Keokuk, Iowa, has leased the Keokuk Union Depot from Pioneer Railcorp for the purpose of historic preservation and community use. Erected in 1891, the building was designed by the Chicago architectural firm Burnham and Root. How You Can Help To volunteer to help with the Depot Preservation Project, or to donate funds:
Architectural features of the Depot include the oak-paneled waiting room, hexagonal ticket booth, and Romanesque Revival red brick window and doorway arches. For the history of the Keokuk Union Depot, visit our History page.
The Depot is located at Johnson and South Water Streets, between the Mississippi River and the limestone bluff along its west bank, and fronts on rail trackage used by BNSF Railway and the Keokuk Junction Railway (part of the Pioneer Railcorp system). The site is a block down-river from the US-136 highway bridge between Hamilton, Illinois and Keokuk. |
Locate the Depot on the map. The City of Keokuk has formed a Union Depot Commission to oversee the project of preservation and conversion to end use, for which a number of possibilities are under consideration. An intern from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago is developing an architectural study in connection with an application to restore the Depot's listing with the National Register of Historic Places. (The former listing had lapsed during a prolonged period during which the Depot was neglected and allowed to deteriorate.) Other studies targeting potential use are under consideration.
The Depot Commission is charged with raising the funds necessary for preservation from grants and private sources. No City tax funds are to be used for this purpose. The Depot project is part of Keokuk's larger Riverfront Development Master Plan. Some roof repairs have been completed, and volunteers have begun work on various cleanup and maintenance projects. For updates on the project, visit our Preservation Progress page. Keokuk Depot Commission
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