Motorless Motion

Depot History . We are lucky that our bike shop is located in an incredible and beautiful historical train depot. Here is a brief history of the depot. History of Historic Train Depot By the beginning of the twentieth century passenger train travel had grown to the point where Madison needed a new larger Depot to handle the volume of travelers. A sight was chosen just across the street from the old 1853 Depot on West Washington Ave. The Chicago based architectural firm of Frost and Grainger was selected, with Charles Sumner Frost himself as the head architect. Frost's neo-classical brick design was erected in 1903 and had both the main depot building as well as the luggage building right next to it. Over the years a number of carriers served the area, including Chicago, Milwaukee, and the St. Paul railway lines. The first significant improvement to the facility came in 1929 when the original wood floors were replaced with the terrazzo that remains to this day.