![Kelly Krantz, of Minneapolis and Tim Sullivan, of St. Paul, challenging each other as they played checkers on their date night. ] (KYNDELL HARKNESS/STAR TRIBUNE) kyndell.harkness@startribune.com The Union Depot on game night in St. Paul Min., Wednesday, October 15, 2014.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/LHGVSSXOJBBECMOHIFJSJC2MUA.jpg?&w=1080)
The Union Depot in downtown St. Paul has long been one of my favorite public places in the Twin Cities.
You can argue about whether its recent $243 million renovation was a worthy project for taxpayers' money. But the result is irrefutable: It's beautiful.
The Depot is actually the second train station in downtown St. Paul; the first one burned in 1913. Construction of the Lowertown structure began in 1917 and was completed in 1926. In its heyday, the station attracted nearly 300 trains and more than 20,000 visitors each day. In 2014, passenger rail service resumed after a 43-year hiatus.
Union Depot was also an important staging area for the deployment of military personnel and equipment during World War II, according to Jean Krueger, real estate asset manager of the Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, the Depot's owner. Trains also were used during the Korean and Vietnam wars.
Now the rail authority has launched a project to honor those veterans by naming a second-floor room the Veterans Gallery. If you have photos of uniformed World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War service personnel inside the Depot, in front of it, or in the train yard, the authority would love to hear from you. Photos will be accepted of World War I personnel deploying before the Depot was built, too.
Mail or deliver the photos to the Veterans Gallery Photo Project, Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority, Union Depot, Suite 200, St. Paul, MN 55101.
"We wanted to do something more substantial to honor these folks," Krueger said.
Include the original photo, the names of the people in the photo and the photo's owner, address, phone number and e-mail.
