The station is built in a rectangular design, on the south side of the tracks. It was designed in a Richardsonian Romanesque style by Charles Sumner Frost and Alfred Hoyt Granger.[1] The building is made from brick and stone, and features a tower facing the tracks.[2]: 37 A freight depot once existed across the tracks from the passenger station. The area featured five tracks, and has since been reduced to two.[3] A near identical twin of the station was built in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
History
The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad first entered DeKalb on August 22, 1853. DeKalb was initially the western terminus of the "Dixon Air Line" branch.[4]: 28 The railroad was eventually extended to the Mississippi River at Fulton, Illinois, in December 1855. A bridge was constructed over the Mississippi and the railroad was bought by the Chicago and North Western Railway in 1864. The line was eventually extended to Council Bluffs and Omaha.[5]: 831 A north–south line was completed by the Northern Illinois Railway, extending from Belvidere to Spring Valley. This was bought by the C&NW on June 9, 1888, although passenger service only lasted until the 1920s.[4]: 30
The first station in DeKalb, built by the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, was on 3rd Street. All that remains in this location is a historical marker placed in 1953 to honor the centennial of the railroad arriving in DeKalb.[2]: 34 The location of the station was eventually moved to the current location, between 6th and 7th Streets. A joint passenger/freight depot was used until the construction of the present depot.[4]: 28