In 1903 when the CB&Q (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy) Railroad Depot was completed, it was a model of modern convenience linking Red Oak Iowa to more urban communities in worlds totally different from life here on the prairie.
Rural communities were virtually inaccessible by any method of transportation until lifelines of railroads joined them to more metropolitan societies.
Re-dedicated 20 DEC 2003, on the 100th anniversary of the first dedication, The Restored Burlington Northern Depot now houses a WWII Memorial Museum, dedicated to all those who served in the Second World War, whether on the front lines ( 1,100 active duty service participants were from Montgomery County Iowa ) or the home front.
The architecture of the Depot is the Richardson Romanesque Style which influenced the first Chicago School of architecture and architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright.
That Style, named after Henry Hobson Richardson, generally follows Romanesque Revival Style, incorporating 11th century southern French and Spanish Romanesque characteristics, plus Richardson designs, which can be observed on the Depot, such as:
> Recessed window arches (more extensive than the earlier Norman).
> Polychromatic use of two colors of stone.
> Hip (slopes to sides and ends) roof.
> Arches that sit on the columns.
> Stone stringer courses.
A visit to the Depot and Museum, which is ADA accessible, can include docent and self-guided tours, an orientation in the auditorium with a rear projection TV screen, use of the WWII and railroad history research library, and the gift shop.
Hours are 10 to noon, Monday thru Friday, at Second Street and BNSF RR Mainline in Red Oak Iowa. The Restored Burlington Northern Depot & WWII Memorial Museum, Red Oak Iowa. Telephone 712.623.6340 Free admission.
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