In 1917, the train depot in Seward, Alaska was known as the “Gateway to Alaska.” On completion of the railroad in 1923, 500 miles of tracks connected the deepwater port of Seward with the interior town of Fairbanks.
During the 1964 Earthquake, the depot survived, but the track beside it did not. Tracks were rebuilt on higher ground, and with it came a new depot. Meanwhile, the old depot served as a teen center, and then as the Alaska Marine Ferry Terminal until the mid-1990s. In 1998, The Chugach Alaska Corporation purchased the depot from the City of Seward. After the purchase, it was used as a Native cultural museum for three seasons. New plans for the building include housing a marine science library for the adjacent Alaska Sea Life Center.
The old depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. In 1996, it was put on the Alaska Association for Historic Preservation’s “Ten Most Endangered Historic Sites” list. Today, the historic depot is still located on Railway Avenue, where it was moved in 1928 after flooding at its original location.
The new working depot, is located on 410 Port Avenue .It provides restrooms, phones and soda machines. The Seward Intermodal Facility, also on Port Avenue, can be rented for events through the Alaska Railroad Corporation.
