South Side in Billings in Yellowstone County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Northern Pacific Depot "Union Station"
Billings Townsite Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
1. Northern Pacific Depot "Union Station" Marker
Inscription.
Northern Pacific Depot "Union Station". Billings Townsite Historic District. Billings’ first depot was built in 1883, a year after the arrival of the Northern Pacific. Because the first depot failed to meet railroad specifications, the nearby Headquarters Hotel served instead as the passenger station. The hotel burned a few years later and a second depot replaced it. In 1909, the Northern Pacific began to upgrade its facilities and built this splendid $65,000 passenger station to be used by three railroad companies. Designed by the Northern Pacific’s chief engineer, only the Livingston Depot equaled this stylish station. The up-to-date complex featured a spacious waiting area for 200 passengers, gentleman’s smoking room, ladies’ waiting room, baggage area, and service offices. The “lunch house” had its own separate building where a chef “second to none in the employ of the company” had charge of the kitchen. By 1914, tracks extended in ten directions and twenty- six passenger trains arrived and departed the depot daily. Striking red roofs, gabled dormers, and stepped parapets long provided travelers with a grand first impression of this busy railroad hub.
Billings’ first depot was built in 1883, a year after the arrival of the Northern Pacific. Because the first depot failed to meet railroad specifications, the nearby Headquarters Hotel served instead as the passenger station. The hotel burned a few years later and a second depot replaced it. In 1909, the Northern Pacific began to upgrade its facilities and built this splendid $65,000 passenger station to be used by three railroad companies. Designed by the Northern Pacific’s chief engineer, only the Livingston Depot equaled this stylish station. The up-to-date complex featured a spacious waiting area for 200 passengers, gentleman’s smoking room, ladies’ waiting room, baggage area, and service offices. The “lunch house” had its own separate building where a chef “second to none in the employ of the company” had charge of the kitchen. By 1914, tracks extended in ten directions and twenty- six passenger trains arrived and departed the depot daily. Striking red roofs, gabled dormers, and stepped parapets long provided travelers with a grand first impression of this busy railroad hub.
Location. 45° 47.028′ N, 108° 29.963′ W. Marker is in Billings, Montana, in Yellowstone County. It is in the South Side. It can be reached from Montana Avenue (Business Interstate 90) near North 23rd Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2310 Montana Avenue, Billings MT 59101, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Montana’s Yellowstone Country. It is also in the American Mountain West and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
2. Northern Pacific Depot "Union Station" and Marker
The marker is at the left side of the entrance.
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, September 15, 2020
3. Northern Pacific Depot "Union Station"
Credits. This page was last revised on January 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 354 times since then and 17 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on February 3, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
