Staff members in Springfield's Chamber of Commerce building at 101 South A St. don't just know their history — they're part of it. Those seven employees happen to work in the city's oldest commercial building — about 116 years old — a Southern Pacific railroad depot that was built six years after Springfield itself was founded in 1885."Most of these stations are no longer in existence, so it's pretty special for that reason," said Dan Egan, the city's Chamber of Commerce executive director, who has an office in the building. But the former railroad station took a long road to get to where it currently stands. Southern Pacific sent its last passenger train to the Springfield station in 1965, then completely closed operations in 1983.

During the next five years, the building began to fall into disrepair. The city purchased the aging building in 1988, then moved it the next year from South Seventh Street to where it stands now. After a period of restoration, the Chamber of Commerce in 1990 became the first organization to inhabit the building in nearly a decade. But Egan said the depot's new location wasn't accidental. As the first thing drivers see when they come over the South A Street bridge from Glenwood into downtown Springfield, the historic building now offers visitors a welcoming sight, he said."What had been here was an abandoned gas station," Egan said. "It was really kind of an ugly entryway into Springfield."

 

Chamber of Commerce staff members now embrace the building's history. The organization offers several tours throughout the year to elementary school classes, and historical information and pictures of the building are posted in a hallway that leads to the old freight room — now used for meetings, parties and even a few weddings, Egan said. The tours and displays offer a chance for Springfield residents, especially children, to learn about an important part of their city's history. "It's great, because I don't think a lot of kids have a natural curiosity about their cities," Egan said.

 

Chamber of Commerce Communications Director Nedine Karakaplan said the staff is happy to educate and spread the city's history, but living in such an old structure also requires a lot of maintenance work. Several minor changes have been made to the building since 1990, including the removal of an old chimney in the corner of Karakaplan's upstairs office.

 

Outside, an old Southern Pacific train car sits on the railroad tracks in front of the building. The station's shades of brown paint remain true to its original appearance, Egan said.

Inside, a narrow stairway leads to the upstairs quarters where past stationmasters once lived. It's also where Ralph Eckroth, the depot's last stationmaster — who still lives in Springfield — once worked. Eckroth, 83, said as many as 26 people used to work under him in the Springfield building. He still has fond memories of working the old Springfield station and many others in the Willamette Valley, he said. "I miss it," Eckroth said. "Every time I hear a train whistle, I'm ready to go." Today, Egan and his staff are always ready to field questions about the depot's history that they've become linked with. "We're prepared all the time," Egan said. "We don't have much choice if someone's standing at the counter and wants to know about the building."

Other items of interest in Springfield and Eugene