Around $2 million in renovations to the Metra train depot downtown will begin this spring and the Crystal Lake Historical Society plans to apply to have the structure declared a national landmark.
The work should take about a year. During construction, trailers will be set up to shelter commuters, said Rick Mack, a spokesman for Metra.
Clayton Weaver, director of Metra’s technical services division, said Metra will restore the building to its original 1914 look.
“Some of the original doorways were boarded up,” Weaver said. “We’re going to open those back up.”
Changes will include more outdoor heated windbreaks, better access to the ticket agent and an ATM machine.
On Tuesday the City Council approved paving walkways around the station with brick and adding decorative lighting and walkway plantings so the station blends in with the century-old downtown district. The $29,000 cost will come out of tax-increment finance district funds.
Diana Kenney, president of the Historical Society, said her group would work to get the depot on the National Register of Historic Places.
