Historic building at Nampa Train Depot gets modern upgrades … – Idaho Press-Tribune

NAMPA Thanks to the financial aid of two grants, the Canyon County Historical Society is making some modern upgrades to the historic train depot building in downtown Nampa.

Scorching-hot summers and frigid winters tend to deter potential visitors to the Nampa Train Depot and the artifact-filled building next door, commonly called the Red Building, officials say. At times, summer temperatures inside can get close to 130 degrees or as low as 10 degrees during the winter season.

Until Tuesday, the Red Building lacked a heating and air conditioning unit.

Inside the Red Building, historic artifacts abound, including a steel-gray metal high school sign for Kenwood High School, a polished black typewriter and Rosabelle, a mechanical dairy cow mascot that at one time could talk.

The first phase of upgrades, now underway, involves installing a heating and air conditioning unit and insulation in the Red Building so visitors can more comfortably enjoy their visit throughout the year.

Maintenance Director Daryl Hood, who is helping with the project and gives tours in the building, enjoys when visitors explore the Red Building because he likes seeing them learn. Sometimes, he said he even learns something new in the process.

Theyll see something they relate to and start talking, Hood said. That building creates a lot of learning both ways.

The upgrade, being done by Carlon Heating & Air and two volunteers, will cost about $13,100 and is funded by a grant from the Canyon County Board of Commissioners.

Later this summer, a retired baggage room in the Nampa Train Depot will be repurposed as a research room, where visitors can investigate their family ties to the city.

The room will have a desk and a computer, which can be used to click through digitally-preserved photos. Other resources will include bookshelves lined with yearbooks, old newspapers, locally-published books and more.

The room is currently being used for storage.

Its pretty amazing, what we want to do, said volunteer coordinator Gail Christiancy,

The new heating and air conditioning unit in the baggage room, also put in by Carlon Heating & Air, is funded through a $8,123 grant from Union Pacific Railroad Co., which the historic society will recognize this weekend when a steam locomotive passes through Nampa.

Hood is seeking a grant from the states historical society to get equipment, such as a computer, for the research room.

Were trying to improve things all around, said historic society director Larry Cain. Well keep doing that as long as theres funding.

Alx George is the IPT education reporter. Contact her at 465-8178 or ageorge@idahopress.com. Follow @missalxgeorge.

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Historic building at Nampa Train Depot gets modern upgrades ... - Idaho Press-Tribune