Director

This building housed the original well for the town of Pullman.

Well House No. 1

The tour will begin at the Pullman Depot Heritage Center, located at 330 N Grand Avenue. Volunteers and members of the Historic Preservation Commission will be at selected locations downtown to explain the history of the Umpqua Bank building, Pullman Depot Heritage Center, Star Route and several other resources of historic significance. 
	Walk at your own pace as you learn about Pullman’s past as reflected in its historic structures. Please arrive for the tour wearing weather-appropriate clothing no later than 7:30 p.m.  It will take at least half an hour to complete the tour.

2019 Historic Downtown Walking Tour

<p>The first railroad to arrive in Pullman was established by the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company in 1885. The Northern Pacific Railroad arrived soon after, establishing the Spokane and Palouse branch line in 1887.1 The Northern Pacific route ran north-south through Pullman and connected the budding town with Spokane to the north and Genesee, Idaho, to the south. In 1890, the branch was extended further south to Lewiston, Idaho.</p><p>When the Northern Pacific branch line through Pullman was completed, a wooden structure served as the depot for the railroad. In May 1916, the Northern Pacific called for bids for the construction of a new, larger depot. Sound Construction from Seattle was awarded the bid.2 The owners, John Hastie and Mr. Dugan, also constructed Bryan and College halls on the Washington State College campus (now WSU) under the name Hastie &amp; Dugan.3 The old wooden depot was sawn in two and the track was moved 8 feet toward the river on to a new railroad bed.</p><p>Constructed for an estimated $40,000, the new depot featured an exterior of Dakota pressed brick with an interior showcasing gleaming marble and polished wood. Upon its opening, the depot unveiled a central ticket and express office with the latest technology in telegraph fixtures and electric signaling. Other interior rooms included a smoking room, waiting room, men’s and women’s restrooms, and a baggage room.4</p><p>The new depot opened to much fanfare on March 9, 1917.5 Mayor John W. Matthews presided over the festivities, which kicked off after the 8 o’clock train left for Lewiston. Flags and bunting decorated the building. In addition to music and treats, including an impressive 2,500 individual fruitcakes prepared by the dining car staff, the nearby artesian well was uncapped to turn it into a foundation. Numerous railroad officials were present to christen the new building. These officials included including A.D. Charlton (assistant general passenger agent out of Portland, Oregon), H.J. Titus (superintendent of the dining car department out of St. Paull, Minn.), B.C. Pettibone (general baggage agent, St. Paul, Minn.), W.H. Ude (city passenger agent of Spokane), M.A. Berg (traveling passenger agent), and C.R. Lonergan (general agent, Spokane).</p><p>Today, the building, no longer a train depot, is being restored, and developed into a regional heritage center.</p>

<p>In June 1916, the Northern Pacific Railroad replaced a smaller wooden structure with a distinguished passenger depot befitting the first transcontinental railroad to span the Pacific Northwest. The new station featured wrought iron grillwork, gabled parapets, brass fittings, oak furniture, and marble restrooms-some of which are still visible in the reconfigured lobby. During the first half of the twentieth century, the "Cougar Special" train departed from the depot and brought Washington State College students to and from Seattle. The Whitman County Historical Society purchased the property in 2018 and formed the Pullman Depot Heritage Center.</p>

Northern Pacific Railroad Depot (Pullman Depot Heritage Center)

<p>In the early twentieth century,
Pullman was a city largely of dirt roads and unpaved streets. The Chamber of Commerce
wanted to improve the city’s streets, especially those leading to the
Washington State campus, and a series of improvements began in 1911.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Some of the streets near the
campus were paved with macadam, but the parts with a steeper incline were paved
with brick to give horses more traction. Today, the only remaining parts of the
brick road can be found at the corner of Palouse and Maple Streets. The project
was completed in 1913.&nbsp;</p>

<p>According to research done by
Washington State architecture students, the former Star Route has survived for
more than a century and is still drivable today because of the kind of brick
that was used. When the road was paved in the 1910s, vitrified brick, which is
resistant to weather and chemical corrosion, was chosen. The city attempted to
pave over the brick in the 1960s, and though the asphalt had to be removed
because of wear and tear, the bricks are still in good shape.&nbsp;</p>

<span>The Historic Star Route is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places</span>

Once known as the Star Route, the red brick portions of Maple Street and Palouse Streets are the remains of an old postal route. In the early 1910s, the Pullman Chamber of Commerce voted to pave the roads leading to the Washington State campus. Brick was chosen on streets with a steeper incline to give horses more traction. The remaining brick road is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Historic Star Route and Palouse Street Brick Road 

<p>The Oregon Railway and Navigation Company
Railroad was the first rail line to arrive in Pullman. A subsidiary, the
Columbia and Palouse Railway laid additional track and ran the first train, which
arrived in Pullman on September 8, 1885. This railroad was an extension of the
Portland to Wallula line, and was continued incrementally eastward between 1881
and 1885, first with an extension from Walla Walla to Riparia and Bolles to
Dayton in 1887, then from Connell to Colfax in 1883, and from Colfax to Pullman
in 1885.1&nbsp;By 1900, the Oregon
Railroad and Navigation Company became a subsidiary of the Union Pacific and,
over time, the Union Pacific completely absorbed the company.2</p><p>This
bridge was constructed in ca. 1900 to span the South Fork of the Palouse River.
The bridge is a steel Pratt through-truss bridge; through-truss refers to the
type of bridge and Pratt refers to the style of truss. Truss bridges feature numerous
small structural members which form a series of interconnected triangles. The
design of through-truss bridges allow them to carry heavier traffic loads.</p>

<p>Engineer Thomas Pratt (1812–1875)
designed the Pratt truss in 1842 and received a joint patent with his father,
Caleb, in 1844 (patent no. 3523). The Pratt truss grew in popularity over the
years and became the most popular bridge type in the United States for railroad
and highway spans less than 250 feet.3</p>

<p>The bridge was damaged during the
flood of 1910, the largest recorded flood event since the settlement of the
city, when the South Palouse River flooded and destroyed bridges, buildings,
and streets in downtown Pullman. The region had experienced heavy snowfall
during the winter and cold temperatures had kept snow on the ground since
December. A Chinook wind blew warm, dry air into the area, quickly melting the
snow.4&nbsp;During the flood, a
building collapsed onto the Kamiaken Street bridge, heavily damaging it; the bridge
then crashed into the Oregon Railroad &amp; Navigation trestle. </p>

<p>When walking along the Riverwalk path
near the Oregon Railroad &amp; Navigation trestle, look for the small and easily
overlooked Scout’s Park just above the intersection of Dry Creek and the South
Fork of the Palosue River. It is widely believed that these waterways—along
with Missouri Flat Creek that feeds into the South Fork of the Palouse River
just to the north—inspired early European-American explorers to establish a
townsite near this location. Years of sporadic flooding led city engineers, in
1990, to place much of Dry Creek in culverts underneath South Grand Avenue.
Visitors to Scout’s Park can view several walking tour sites from the park
benches.&nbsp;</p><div><div>

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This steel Pratt through-truss bridge serves as a physical symbol of Pullman's regional, national, and global reach. For many years, it has spanned the occasionally volatile South Fork of the Palouse River and has provided vital support for trains hauling agricultural products and passengers. The bridge suffered significant damage during the 1910 flood, but was reconfigured to ensure protection against future water events. It is still in use and located on private property.

Oregon Railway and Navigation Company Railroad Bridge

<p>The Union Pacific Railroad arrived in Pullman
in 1887, leasing the line completed by the Oregon Railway and Navigation
Company in 1885. For many years, a small wood-frame depot served passengers
arriving by this railroad; it was torn down soon after the new building
replaced it. The former structure featured a gable roof with broad overhanging
eaves. Large brackets and decorative bargeboards decorated the building’s exterior.1&nbsp;Tall, narrow windows and a
corbelled brick chimney further defined the building. The building was torn
down soon after the new building was opened.2</p>

<p>The
new building, constructed between 1938 and 1939, reflects the trends of its
time. In the Minimal Traditional style, it features stripped down elements of
the Tudor Revival style, such as half-timbering in the gable ends and a
crenellated parapet wall. The Tudor Revival elements continue on the interior
with large decorative beams. </p>

<p><span>The
building was donated to Washington State University, which renamed the building
“Cougar Depot” when it opened on July 13, 1988.3 As Cougar Depot, the
building served as the university’s athletic ticket office, visitor center, and
corporate meeting facility. WSU replaced Cougar Depot with the Brelsford
Visitor Center in 2014 and sold the building to Umpqua Bank.</span></p><div><div>

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Passenger demand and a rising local population inspired the Union Pacific Railroad, in 1938, to rebuild an existing station to compete with the nearby Northern Pacific Railroad Depot. This new brick depot replaced an older nineteenth century wooden structure, built originally for the Oregon Railway and Navigation Company, and was in keeping with a variety of brick edifices that had risen both in downtown Pullman and at Washington State College earlier in the twentieth century. Now out of service as a depot, the Union Pacific logo still graces the north facade of the renovated structure. Original wooden beams are still clearly visible inside.

Union Pacific Depot

This is the former site of Pullman Building Supply. The Quonset hut was constructed in 1952 for the Standard Lumber Company. The office structure and additional outbuildings were added later.

2019 Historic Downtown Walking Tour

Well House No. 1

Introduction

Images