CHENEY – Despite winds, fires, smoke and a pandemic, work on relocating Cheney’s Northern Pacific Railroad Depot continues.
The heavy lifting part of the project, which began in 2014, took place June 18 when crews from Mt. Vernon, Wash.-based movers DB Davis transported the structure from its former location along the railroad tracks near ADM Mills to its present and permanent home along 1st Street.
Since then, the Cheney Depot Society’s project general contractor, Walker Construction, has been busy building the foundation and associated utility work. With that completed, DB Davis returned to Cheney on Sept. 8 and lowered the building onto the foundation and in essence completing the move.
All that remains is for DB Davis to remove the steel needed to create the cradle supporting the depot during its move, a process Depot Society spokesperson Sue Beeman said should take about two weeks. There is also some repair and patch work needing to be done — including repairing some holes DB Davis needed to make to insert the steel and damage from deterioration due to age.
“There has been no maintenance (done on the building) for a long time,” Beeman said.
One of the more visible aspects of damage repair is the roof, which is made of clay tiles associated with its Southwest U.S. architectural style – a style unique to railroad depots built in the Pacific Northwest. Beeman said in preparing for the move they found a stash of original tiles in the building’s attic – tiles that have not been lightened by exposure to sun.
Walker Construction crews will use these to repair damaged tiles on the front or 1st Street side of the building, moving any dark tiles from the backside to the front as well to make it more homogenous.
“Unless they prove to brittle to be moved,” she added.
While the physical portion of the building’s renovation is nearing completion, the financial portion to maintain the structure and make improvements to turn it into a useful facility continue. In that, the Depot Society learned recently the 91-year-old building has again made the list of ranked projects for grant funding from the Washington State Historical Society’s Heritage Capital Projects Advisory Panel. The depot was awarded a $366,000 grant from the Heritage Capital Projects fund in August 2018 when funding was included in the 2019-2021 state budget.
That will have to happen again in the 2021-2023 biennial budget for the depot to receive a grant.
“Ever since it was founded 20 years ago, they (Legislature) have funded it at $10 million consistently each biennium,” Beeman said.
An estimated $8 billion shortfall in funding due to the economic downturn resulting from COVID-19 measures may make that difficult, but if the money is available, Beeman said the society will be ready with matching funds. Those have been in place since early 2015 when former Cheney resident Dr. Peter Hansen pledged to match every dollar raised up to $500,000 – an amount Beeman said he has already written checks totaling $290,000 to cover.
The society is hoping to raise the remaining $210,000 by the beginning of December – but again, restrictions due to COVID-19 have presented challenges.
“Our whole fundraising plan was based on face-to-face interactions,” Beeman said.
The society has had to be more creative, utilizing existing relationships to open doors to new fundraising opportunities. Beeman said they are fortunate in that those who are familiar with the depot project are very excited about it and supportive – making the connections more available, even if there is more work.
“It’s a lot of phone calls,” she said. “We are reaching out to those who can make an introduction for us.”
The Depot Society also received a $50,000 donation from the Avista Foundation in January, with $25,000 going towards exterior work after relocation and the balance at a later date for interior improvements.
John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.
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