History of Saginaw Depot Preservation Corporation

 

The beginning started in the late summer of 1988 with the news that the Potter Street train depot was to be demolished.

There had been three studies completed on the structure and the surrounding community by the city and various organizations to see what could be done with it and what might be a viable business to establish in it. Nothing was accomplished by these three studies that were funded by grants.

At one time the railroad company (CSX Transportation) offered the depot to the city for $1.00. Since the city could not find any use for the depot, they informed the railroad that they were not interested and that the building did not comply with the city's dangerous buildings ordinance, since it was open to the elements, and that the railroad must make repairs or tear the structure down.

The railroad had taken bids on demolition and was in the process of issuing a contract when CSX was contacted and asked to see the inside of the building to see if the building was structurally sound.

The idea to make it a tourist attraction, centered around trains and depots, with other parts of the immediate community becoming supporting facilities, was suggested. Parts of the community date back to the same period as the depot. Ideas ranged from tour trains, dinner trains, trolley cars, souvenir shops, gift shops, and in general a period design around the turn of the century.

When the day came to tour the depot with the representative from CSX, all of the media and as many as 25 citizens showed to tour the building.

The media created a hype and the ideas caught the fancy of many of the general public. Many people stated that the depot should be saved. The tour showed that the building was in good sound structural shape.

With no one coming forward to preserve the building, three persons launched on a campaign to save the depot and started negotiations to have the depot donated or buy it from the railroad.

The railroad would not donate the building, but it was negotiated down from $24,000 to $10,000 with $2,000 down, 1 year to pay off a note and to receive the deed to the depot.

The railroad accepted the offer after many negotiations and the three individuals set about contacting twenty people for $100.00 each to buy it. Some donated less and some donated more, but the amount was obtained, the down payment made and the depot was purchased.

By this time it was December of 1989 and the deed was received in January of 1990. The group, at this time was called the Saginaw Potter Street Preservation Society, and they began with an attorney’s help to draft and adopt a constitution and by-laws to form a non-profit corporation. A new name was adopted of The Saginaw Depot Preservation Corporation and corporation papers were filed with the State of Michigan.

The paper work was started for the recognition as a 501©3 corporation (tax exempt) and after much delay the papers were filed.

Meanwhile, while waiting for the 501©3, there was not much that could be done so the corporation meetings were used to organize the organization.

Memberships were established and it started with a small membership.

Meanwhile the city issued condemnation orders while the group resisted by asking the city for time to get the affairs in order.

The group started to raise money by selling T-shirts with the depot picture and organization logo on the front. This expanded to other items being sold, such as copies of an antique post card, photos of the depot, and much more.

The group started to participate in community affairs for public awareness and to sell various items to raise money. This included yard sales, the ethnic festival, raft races, and Fourth of July events.

An April 16, 1991, the building was set afire by an arsonist and the city fire department fought the blaze for approximately 8 hrs. The roof was completely destroyed as well as the third floor. The second floor had some damage to it, but the first floor was completely untouched except for some water damage.

The group obtained opinions as to the remaining historical significance after the fire, and as to the possibility of rebuilding the structure. Rumors were heard that the city would tear the building down under an emergency status if it were considered dangerous. The group kept a close watch and the city elected not to tear it down, but ordered a fence be placed around the building, and first floor openings boarded for the 30 days to see if anything could be done.

The city then held a hearing for the group to prove that the building was not a dangerous building. The results of the hearing was that that the building was to be brought up to code within 30 days, demolished or the city would demolish it and charge the cost back to the organization.

The board filed action in court and obtained a restraining order against the city demolishing the building. After many times in court, the judge finally ruled in favor of the city and upheld the hearing officer’s decision.

It was at that time that the ISTEA funds became available and the group applied for a grant.

Meanwhile the membership had grown and the members would attend the city council meetings, wearing their T-shirts and sweatshirts with the logo on it. Many times the council was addressed to inform them of the historical significance of the depot and to show them that it was salvageable, and to ask for time to apply for funding.

After the judge ruled in favor of the city, the SDPC filed papers in the State of Michigan appellate court. However, one requirement on the application for the M-DOT ISTEA fund was that there would have to be a resolution of support from the local municipality. In order to obtain this the city council required that the organization drop it’s lawsuit against the city, which they did.

The volunteers began to remove the fire debris in October of 1993 from the second floor which had fallen there from the third floor and roof. It had to be removed by shoveling it into 5 gallon buckets, carried to an exterior window, and dumped into a chute to fall into a truck or on the ground to be picked up later and put into a truck. Since this was done on Saturdays, the most trips that could be made to a dump was 2 and since the truck being used, was donated from a local contractor, it was decided to dump most of it on the ground for future pickup. Another local contractor donated a large dump truck, a front-end loader, and a driver, that picked up the debris on the ground, put it in the truck and transported it to the dump. In all ,approximately 170 tons of debris was removed before the Christmas Holidays.

In January of 1993, Governor John Engler made a visit to Saginaw to announce the award of an ISTEA grant of $181,600 to the City of Saginaw for the project of stabilization of the depot. The local match was to be for 20% or 45,000.

The SDPC continued to make progress and in the winter months obtained donations for wood to cover the window openings on the second floor. These were painted as windows and installed beginning in March of 1993.

At the present time the group is planning many events to raise the matching funds and to raise additional monies for this on going restoration.