Bemidji station
Great Northern Depot | |
Bemidji's Great Northern Depot viewed from the northwest | |
| Location | 130 Minnesota Avenue SW, Bemidji, Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 47°28′3″N 94°52′56″W / 47.46750°N 94.88222°W |
| Area | Less than one acre |
| Built | 1912–13 |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical/Arts and Crafts |
| NRHP reference No. | 88000673 |
| Designated | May 26, 1988 |
Bemidji station is a former Great Northern Railway depot in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. It opened in 1913, replacing a wooden structure built in 1898. It was the last depot commissioned by railroad magnate James J. Hill.
The depot served passengers until the late 1950s and continued as a freight depot until the mid-1980s, when it was closed, boarded up, and abandoned. In 1988 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Great Northern Depot for its local significance in the themes of exploration/settlement and transportation. It was nominated for being Bemidji's only intact early-20th-century railroad building, symbolizing the rail access that transformed the settlement into a logging boomtown and regional trade center.
Empty and deteriorating, the building was slated for demolition in the late 20th century. It was saved by a nearly $2 million adaptive reuse effort and now houses the Beltrami County History Center, operated by the Beltrami County Historical Society.