Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot (Atlantic, Iowa) facts for kids

Atlantic
Former Rock Island Line passenger rail station
Location	102 North Chestnut Street, Atlantic, Iowa 50022
History
Rebuilt	1898
Services
Preceding station   Rock Island Line   Following station Walnut toward Colorado Springs Main Line Wiota toward Chicago Council Bluffs toward Denver or Colorado Springs Rocky Mountain Rocket Des Moines toward Chicago
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in Iowa Show map of Iowa Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Junction of 1st and Chesnut Sts., Atlantic, Iowa
Built	1898
Built by	Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Architectural style	Renaissance Revival
MPS	Advent & Development of Railroads in Iowa MPS
NRHP reference No.	94000087
Added to NRHP	February 23, 1994

The Rock Island Depot in Atlantic, Iowa, is an old train station with a lot of history. It was once a busy spot for the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad. This railroad helped build the city of Atlantic back in 1868.

Atlantic grew into a very important town. It was the biggest community along the Rock Island lines between Des Moines and Council Bluffs.

A Special Train Station

The building you see today was finished in 1898. It's not like other train stations built by the Rock Island Railroad. Its unique design suggests a special architect might have created it. This was a good time for the railroad. They were able to build new and better facilities along their main routes.

What Was Inside?

The station had a main building for passengers. It also had a separate area for express freight and baggage. This part was built at the same time as the passenger depot. Before this building, there was an older, smaller station nearby. That one handled both passengers and freight.

From Station to Community Hub

After it stopped being a train station, the building became quite run down. But thankfully, it was restored and brought back to life! Today, it's home to the local chamber of commerce. This means it's still a busy place for the community.

A Historic Landmark

Because of its importance and unique design, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. This is a list of places in the United States that are important to history.