Wadsworth Construction plans to renovate the original Depot building on West Pearl Street

David Wadsworth holds the certificate stating the Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in September of 2016

David Wadsworth has big plans for the former Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot located on West Pearl Street. The building has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Wadsworth uses the building for his business, Wadsworth Construction.

"I knew I could use this building as shop space for my business.  I felt that it was at risk of being torn down and I think it was worth saving.  I knew this building would provide a good model for what my business does.  For a building built in 1869, it's remarkably intact," commented Wadsworth.

The building was originally used as a depot for both passengers and freight back in 1869.  When the train depot on East Water Street was built for train passengers in 1888, the original depot building continued to be used for freight until the late 1970s.

The front office is a perfect place for Wadsworth and his employees to work on their window restoration business as it's a heated area. The back room is not heated, but is a great space for storing building supplies. If you look behind the stacks of wood and window frames, you can see glimpses of the past--from the graffiti on the walls to the buckling wood floors.

Wadsworth says people have dropped in and shown him photos when the Bolson Feed Mill was just behind the depot and also have told stories of how baby chickens and bees would be brought inside the building to keep them warm as they were transported on the train. He has heard one of the reasons the floors are buckling in the back storage room is because a large load of bricks was delivered and stacked inside before they were used to build one of the local churches.

Wadsworth Construction is known for their window restoration. T-Bock's and The New Minowa Players theater are a couple of their window restoration projects. The building on Pearl Street is a good fit for Wadsworth Construction as they bring new life to old materials.

Wadsworth plans to renovate the building. It is built on wooden piers running under the floors. He plans to have a house mover lift the whole building up and put a concrete foundation around the edges of the building, and then level out the inside wooden floor. Replacing the roof and restoring the facade are also in the plans. "It will be a complete makeover, while maintaining the historical details," says Wadsworth.

To read more about the depot, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milwaukee_and_St._Paul_Railway_Combination_Depot

The former Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot on Pearl Street

The front room is where window restoration takes place

Graffiti like this is seen throughout the back storage room

The original wooden plank floors have boards that are 2" thick