More than 100 people attended the ground-breaking ceremony to begin the restoration of the old Southern Pacific Railroad Depot in downtown Orange Saturday.
The Friends of the Orange Depot under founder Carrie Joiner Woliver, an Orange native, raised $600,000 for the restoration. The depot was opened about 110 years ago as a place for passengers, freight and the U.S. mail. The depot will have a museum and a community room.
Trains quit stopping at the depot 40 years ago and the building has been vacant for 25 years. Saturday, boards were taken off to allow people to see inside. Though the building is in disrepair, many of the original features are still intact, including original cast iron exterior features. The ticket booth and office still have parts of a desk that was built into the wall.
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