Endion Station Century-old building still functioning

By Kelly Busche kbusche@duluthnews.com

Duluth’s Endion station is the last passenger small depot of its kind.

It cost $10,000 to build the small depot in 1899, which stood 100 feet from Lake Superior’s shores.

The rail line that serviced the station connected Duluth and Two Harbors, with its first stop outside of downtown Duluth at Endion — a former town located north of Duluth. But as the city grew, the independent town was absorbed and the resulting neighborhood (and station) now don the Endion name, according to the Minnesota Historical Society.

It also took Duluth residents between downtown and the suburbs for work. Some say the line was crucial for developing Duluth’s east neighborhoods, the Historical Society says.

But, as passenger rail ridership declined in the years following 1950, the depot saw its last passenger train in 1961 and the final freight train in 1978.

The building was then moved to Canal Park from the Endion neighborhood in 1986 to make way for Interstate 35. At this location, the station served as Duluth’s tourism bureau, Duluth Police Department substation, outdoor adventure company Midnight Sun’s store and the Nelson & Company advertising business space, according to Perfect Duluth Day.

The station’s Richardsonian Romanesque style includes rounded arches, deeply recessed windows and heavy stonework. Local Kettle River sandstone was used for foundation and trim, red bricks make up the building’s walls and a slate roof tops it off, the Historical Society says.

Now, the station has a new life. Rod Raymond, who owns Fitger’s Brewhouse, The Rathskeller and Burrito Union, turned it into a hotel earlier this fall. u

Endion Station at its former location, where it served as a passenger depot. (Courtesy of the Library of Congress)