If you don't know the history of Marion, do your homework. Marion was a railroad town. The Depot is a monument to Marion's great railroad history. The railroad was Marion's largest employer for years, and at one time many passenger and freight trains stopped in Marion daily. Marion had a roundhouse and machine shop.

The Depot was built in 1888. A hundred years later the Depot faced demolition. A citizen group, Depot Pride, was formed. The work was done mostly by volunteers. The roof was removed and placed in the park on a foundation built with concrete blocks and original bricks from the Depot.

Around 100,000 bricks were cleaned by hand by volunteers with chisels, taking approximately five minutes each. As much of the original building as possible was salvaged. The roof, bricks, window sills, porch timbers, rafters, platform bricks, luggage carts and railroad signal were saved. The caboose was added in 1992.

The Depot as relocated in City Square Park is listed with the Railroad Historical Society of Iowa. The inventory forms for the State of Iowa Historical Society are completed, which is the first step for placing the Depot on the National Register of Historic Places.

If the Depot needs better maintenance, do it. If the building needs its restrooms updated, do it (we do have public restrooms at City Hall and the Library).

The Depot was built as an open pavilion and should be kept that way. I hope the citizens of Marion will not allow in- and out-of-town city planning committees to alter the structure or tear it down. If money is available, Marion should improve streets and sewers instead of some of the radical ideas that have been suggested by different committees.

You can let your opinion known by contacting the city's Planning Department, the Marion City Council or the Chamber of Commerce.

Paul Draper

Marion