The Jeffris Family Foundation has announced a one-third matching grant of $333,000 toward restoration of the roof of the Keokuk Union Depot. The $1 million project will include replacement of the current shingled roof with clay tiles similar to the original, as well as restoration of the peaked central tower (which was truncated in the late 1940s) and rebuilding of the chimney to its original height. The Keokuk Union Depot Foundation must raise the remaining two-thirds of the cost over a three-year period.

The Depot is owned by the City of Keokuk. Erected in 1891 by the five railroads then serving Keokuk, it is architecturally significant as one of the few remaining railroad depots designed by the architectural firm of Burnham and Root. In particular the building is emblematic of John Wellborn Root’s Romanesque Revival style, noted for its earth-tone coloration, arched windows, and high-pitched roofline. Restoric LLC of Chicago has prepared a full Historic Structures Report detailing the original configuration and materials used in the construction of the Depot, and outlining steps needed to restore the building and adapt it for re-use as a center of community activity. The roof project is the necessary first step in this preservation effort.

The Jeffris Family Foundation (http://www.jeffrisfoundation.org/) of Janesville, Wisconsin is dedicated to historic preservation in the Midwest. The Keokuk award was announced June 18, 2014, by Thomas M. Jeffris, president. In the photo below Janet M. Smith, president of the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation, raises a toast during a celebration of the grant award held at the Depot shortly after the news was received. Gifts of funds or stock counting toward the remaining $667,000 cost of the project may be made by contacting the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation, P.O. Box 463, Keokuk, IA 52632.

Richard C. Leonard, Ph.D.
Vice President, Keokuk Union Depot Foundation
http://www.keokukuniondepot.org

Wow !

That took more than 5 minutes work.

Congratulations !!!!!

Bob H

Yes, this has been "in the works" for about a year. Janet Smith (an attorney) has put in a prodigious amount of work in managing the preparation of documents necessary to apply for this grant, and in consultation with members of the Jeffris Foundation. Many others from the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation and the Keokuk Union Depot Commission (especially Debra Marion, president) had a role in providing historical and budgetary documentation for the application. The Historic Structures Report of some 180-plus pages was prepared by Neal Vogel of Restoric LLC, following up on the initial assessment by Christen Sundquist Martin, a graduate student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The ability to enlist people in this effort is largely because the Keokuk Union Depot has architectural significance as well as being of interest to the railway preservation community.

The Daily Gate City (local paper in Keokuk) has this article today (June 19) about the Jeffris Foundation grant to the Depot. Writer of the article, Megan McNeill, is a reporter for the Daily Gate City and also a member of the Keokuk Union Depot Commission. (Her dual role always helps with local publicity for the Depot.)
http://www.dailygate.com/news/article_c9929792-f7c9-11e3-bc8c-001a4bcf887a.html

The "Depot 125" capital campaign to raise the $667,000 2/3 match of the Jeffris Family Foundation grant will "kick off" on Thursday, September 11, 2014 at 5:30 with a special presentation at the Depot. Speakers will describe how the City of Keokuk acquired the Depot, the work of volunteers to make the building usable, the creation of the detailed Historic Structure Report, and the securing of the Jeffris grant. The campaign is called "Depot 125" in the hope that the matching $667,000 will be raised by the Depot's 125th anniversary in 2016, and that work on restoring the roof can begin at that time (although the Jeffris grant stipulation allows one more year to raise the matching funds).

The Keokuk Daily Gate City has an article today about the kickoff event at http://www.dailygate.com/news/article_18918b72-3510-11e4-a05f-001a4bcf887a.html. There is also a website dedicated to the "Depot 125" campaign at http://www.depot125.org.

A fantastic building, I always plan on visiting on my interstate 80 cross country trips but it's always just out of the way enough to keep me from having time to visit.

What's really cool is that tiny town had an electric street car system that came down the hill behind the station and took passengers to and from 'downtown'.

Yes, on the Depot web site's History page, http://www.keokukuniondepot.org/history.html, there's an old photo of a streetcar coming down (or going up) the bluff behind the Depot, Originally the line came down Johnson Street, but after a runaway car in the early 1900s the trolley line was rerouted to Exchange Street and down a ramp cut out of the bluff behind the Depot. There were also interurban-type trolleys that ran from the Depot across the Mississippi to Hamilton and Warsaw, Illinois.

Richard -

Thanks for posting the link to the depot's History page. At the beginning, it mentions that Keokuk was served by 5 railroads, but later lists only 4 (TP&W, WAB, CB&Q and CRI&P). I checked my old Official Guide, and it also lists just these four. What was the other one? Neat shot of the streetcar coming down the bluff. Anything from that line survive? Also like the fact that most of the photos on that sheet show Burlington trains including a shot of the Q's 4960 BEFORE the Grand Canyon got ahold of her. And the panoramic photo at the bottom of the page of the station shows what I am almost 100% certain is a CB&Q 2-6-0 at the head end of the stopped passenger train.

Les

There were five railroads in the initial planning of the Depot and formation of the Keokuk Union Depot Company. The Keokuk & Western and the St. Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern (if that is the correct name) were controlled by the CB&Q and shortly absorbed into it, giving the CB&Q two of the five shares in the company and reducing the serving railroads to four. AFAIK nothing of the city trolley line (privately owned) survives except the old carbarn, I believe, is used as a city maintenance garage. Of course, it's possible there are rails somewhere under street surface, but I've never seen any.

Thanks for the explanation.

Les

The capital campaign kickoff took place today (Thursday, September 11, 2014). Janet Smith, president of the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation, announced that $227,000 has already been received or pledged toward the $667,000 needed to match the Jeffris Family Foundation grant. If the full amount is reached by July 2016, the Depot's 125th anniversary, work on the new roof can begin at that time. The photo below shows the current state of the Depot and a rendering of its appearance once the roof project is complete.

Here's the link to the Daily Gate City article reporting the September 11 capital campaign kickoff event:
http://www.dailygate.com/article_f3761b54-3a92-11e4-9080-b7847d023916.html

The full article is on our "Depot 125" Capital Campaign web site:
http://www.depot125.org/dgc_article_9-13-14.pdf

At the September 11 Capital Campaign launch event, this O-scale model of the Keokuk Union Depot was unveiled. It has two removable roofs -- the projected tile roof after completion of the $1M project, and the current green-shingled roof (on shelf behind). Christen and Matt Martin of Restoric, LLC (a Chicago firm specializing in restoration of historic architecture) created the model.

Shown below the model is a piece of the sandstone "water table" that encircles the entire building about three feet above ground. The piece was removed in 2013 to experiment with ways to repair the effects of deterioration, found on most of these stones, and has been returned to be put back in place to gauge its weathering properties after repair. The original 1891 publicity for the Depot stated this was "Colorado peach blow stone," but the closest match now appears to be "Wolf's Carbondale Brownstone," used on many Chicago buildings.

To enable work on the complete roof restoration to begin by the Depot's 125th anniversary, July 2016, the Keokuk Union Depot Foundation has launched the "Depot 125 Club" campaign. Donors of $125 or more to this special campaign become charter members of the club. Janet Smith, president of the Foundation, has sent out the following mass mailing. A special pledge form can be downloaded here:
http://www.depot125.org/pledge_form_125_club.pdf
Because most RyPN respondents have their own projects to support, this is FYI only to the railway preservation community and not a solicitation of contributions. This project is supported in part by the State Historical Society of Iowa, Historical Resource Development Program.