New funding has been secured for the upgrading of one of the most architecturally significant railroad stations in the West.
Located in Grand Junction at 119 Pitkin Avenue, the Grand Junction Union Depot was built in 1906 and was part of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad Company line.
Designed in the Italian Renaissance style by well-known Chicago architect Henry Schlacks and built at a cost of $60,000, the station was hailed at the time of its opening by the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel as having a lobby with “huge windows and other wood work of solid oak,” along with “curved seats of solid gold oak,” and a steel latticed ticket office with a solid marble counter.
The station remained in use until 1991, after which local efforts were undertaken to preserve the building. Those efforts resulted in the structure being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In fits and starts, work has been undertaken in the years since to upgrade the more than 9,000-square-foot structure. In recent years that effort has been spearheaded by the Grand Junction Downtown Development Authority with the goal of building food, beverage, and retail space inside the depot.
Now the History Colorado’s State Historical Fund has announced that it is awarding the revitalization project a $250,000 grant to be used for a variety of purposes including roof replacement, gutter repairs, and utility installation.
In a press release History Colorado says that the grant will “help address the most urgent needs to stabilize and prepare the building for the future.”
It has been noted that both Amtrak and the Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration are currently evaluating the possibility of implementing rail service at the station.
The $250,000 grant is part of a just over $6 million grant package awarded this week by History Colorado for nearly 40 preservation projects across the state.
January 23, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Vintage postcard of Grand Junction Union Depot
