Taking the Lead

Repurposing old train depot might seem like a daunting task. Not to a group of five intrepid friends from Decatur, who rallied to save the city’s long-vacant Pennsylvania Train Station and Depot. The self-titled Pennsy Girls worked with the city, owner of the landmark, to form a loosely structured committee in May 2014 to brainstorm a rehab and re-use plan for the beloved but run-down landmark.

The 1902 brick Classical Revival station was originally constructed as the Pennsylvania Railroad passenger station and freight depot. As transportation shifted to cars and trucks after WWII, the old station slowly become obsolete, closing for good in 1961.

Many years later, standing in the vacant lobby where service men set off to war, young newlyweds embarked on their honeymoons, and people welcomed visiting relatives and friends, members of the group pondered how they could allow this heritage to disappear.

Estimates determined it would cost $100,000 to make the building usable again. The Pennsy Girls knew a bake sale would not suffice! By the spring of 2015, the Pennsy Girls raised half the cost of a new roof and the city covered the rest.

The initial success spurred additional investment, including grants from Indiana’s Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the Adams County Community Foundation, the Porter Foundation, and individual donations of time and money. The Pennsy Girls recruited in-kind donations of labor and materials friends and family to meet matching grant requirements. To save money, the city used laborers from the local Community Correctional program to clean out the interior.