Union Pacific Depot

Union Pacific Depot. . The existing Depot building was built in 1909 by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company. The depot building is primarily styled after architecture of the Mediterranean, as seen in the tiled hip roof, decorative roof support brackets and brick belt courses. Declining use of the passenger depot threatened the building's demolition until it was finally renovated in 1987 for the Umatilla County Historical Society Museum and offices. , The routing of major east-west rail lines through Pendleton completed coast-to-coast in 1884, assured the town's growth into a regional economic center. Location of the lines, several blocks south of the early center of town, along Court Street, spurred the development of the area now designated as the South Main Street Commercial Historic District. Hotels and businesses sprang up to serve rail passengers as well as local ranchers coming to town to ship their farm products. Later, as rail travel declined, the historic district was somewhat neglected and buildings nearer the depot less remodeled than those in the older parts of the city, many of which have entirely lost their historic appearances.