(rshsdepot) Bowling Green, KY

["James Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

-From the Bowling Green Daily News...

Monday, April 09, 2001
Depot to be a stop again
No trains to catch this time as building to open as library branch

By Steve Gaines

Although L&N Depot hasn’t had a passenger train stop at its gates since Oct.
1, 1979, it soon will provide connections to the information superhighway.
The depot will be home to Bowling Green Public Library’s digital library.

“I think (the depot) is a historical treasure for our city,” City
Commissioner Jim Bullington said. “It would of been tragic if we would have
lost it. (The renovation is) significant because it’s the only digital
library in the state.”

The library branch in the Depot Development Authority-owned facility will
feature modern computer stations and Internet connections – a major
renaissance for a building saved from likely destruction when Operation
PRIDE bought it in 1993.

The digital library is slated to open April 27 with hours from noon to 8
p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays,
Fridays and Saturdays, according to Karen Porter, former library director
and now consultant on the project.

The depot, built in 1925, is a federal-style building with Roman arches,
tall ceilings and tile floors. It was once the center of attention in
Bowling Green, with up to 27 passenger trains arriving at the historic
structure to pick up travelers on any given day.

Bullington, whose grandfather worked at the station, remembers the
Hummingbird passenger train arriving at the station on a regular basis.

“It would come through twice a week. It ran from Florida to Louisville,” he
said. “It was a big deal in town.”

The library will offer 28 public-use computers with high speed Internet
access at no charge. An early childhood learning center will have 12
computers.

When finished, the renovated depot also will feature a small cafe and a
museum emphasizing Kentucky art and history, Operation PRIDE Director Tracy
Fleck said.

“It is an extremely significant project because not only does it preserve a
historic structure, it will help to improve (the) community’s appearance and
vitality,” Fleck said.

The lobby will feature the murals of David Jones, which depict historical
events at the station – including a soldier going to war and a child and his
grandfather waiting for a train.

Renovations for the $3.4 million project have been ongoing since receiving a
first grant in 1995.

A significant portion of the project has been funded through federal
programs - ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act) and
TEA-21 (Trans Equity Act for the 21st Century). There also has been a mix of
local, state and other federal funding.

While the space has been prepared for the new library, there is still
furniture and equipment to be installed and the networking and software
installation to be completed, Porter said.

“There is still a lot of fine tuning to do,” she said.

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