Lawrence Modern home

Tim Hossler

The extensive renovation of the Santa Fe Depot is completed. It is one of the greatest midcentury preservation efforts in the State of Kansas and arguably the most significant in Lawrence history.

The Depot was designed by Warren Corman and Warren Jones and completed in 1956. Preservation efforts have drawn a diverse group of activists with various interests, yet everyone shared a common goal to preserve the train station after years of neglect.

Lawrence Modern has been involved since the beginning when Depot Redux, the non-profit advocacy group led by Carey Maynard-Moody, was formed nine years ago. Depot Redux has worked diligently with numerous city commissions, two city managers, the Historic Resource Commission, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway and Amtrak for the City to transfer ownership of the building. This enabled the City to submit the nomination written by our own Dennis Domer for the depot to be listed on the National, Kansas and Lawrence Historic Registers, which in turn facilitated a Transportation Enhancement grant administered by the Kansas Department of Transportation and matching monies from the City to fund the extensive renovation.

On February 22^nd you will find that the building looks very similar to what it looked like in 1956. What you won’t see is the new geothermal HVAC, new electrical, plumbing and new roof. There is new aluminum fascia wrapped around the various roof elevations and fresh paint. The bathrooms, entrances, walkways, and platform now meet American with Disabilities (ADA) guidelines. The original (but still operable) windows have interior storm windows and screens that blend seamlessly with the north and south window walls.

First Management Construction was in charge of the renovation and Stan Hernly of Hernly Associates Inc. was the architect who made sure the renovation adhered to the historic guidelines.

Assistant City Manager Diane Stoddard provided the leadership and determination for the Depot ownership to be transferred to the City. Without Diane’s persistence, the Depot would still be owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and falling into a worsening state of disrepair.

We are happy and grateful to all of the citizens of Lawrence who were involved with this successful preservation effort and look forward to celebrating the refurbished Depot with you.

Link to the nomination for the National & State Historic Register:

https://www.kshs.org/resource/national_register/nominationsNRDB/Douglas_SantaFeDepot_LawrenceNR.pdf

– Tom, Dennis, Tim & Bill