Spring Construction Updates

The Depot is humming these days. Not only do we buzz with the sound of organizations holding events, hosting programs, and gathering customers, we are also positively alive with the sounds of saw blades, drills, hammers, and hydraulics. We are officially under construction.

Since January, we have demolished a 300-square-foot mechanical room below the Depot Theatre and poured a large set of concrete pads where our old, outdated equipment once stood. The pads will host new boilers, which will keep the building efficiently comfortable for decades.

New copper pipes are now threading the building, incidentally giving our ceilings a little glamour. Huge, super-insulated ducts curve their way through the canopies of the train museum and will eventually twist throughout the building, silently racing with fresh air for all to take for granted.

In the meantime, new features have been revealed: old chunks of original plaster; 134-year-old brick, and original exterior windows. Just last week, Simon, our intrepid Property Manager, found a massive, ornate, cast-iron grate in the wall, surely a remnant of HVAC from years past, hidden in plain sight behind an exhibit.

Impacts in the building for now:

• The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is partially fenced off, but you can still spy the new infrastructure from the open museum.
• Three Minnesota Ballet studios are closed and under active construction: Studios One, Two, and Three.
• The Depot Theatre is closed for bookings until May 2027.
• The JC Ryan Room, Ojibwe Gallery, Immigrant Waiting Room, and Veterans Memorial Hall are all closed, but some exhibits have relocated temporarily to the Fourth Floor (come check them out, it’s free!).

We know some of these closures are incredibly inconvenient, but we’re excited to get through this project and welcome you back to your favorite Depot exhibit/space in the future, with enhanced comfort and maybe a little more polish. Happy Daffodils!