September
FREE
2014
The
News for the Mid-Willamette Valley
Septemb er Events C Local alendar Page 2
Popular Flea Market Comes to Albany
This award winning photo shows the sun setting on Albany’s historic train station.
Photo by Stephanie Low
Albany’s Historic Train Station Who knows what bargains await you while strolling through the new Linn County Flea market.
by Rick Rogers
Points
After building a successful antique show and flea market with the Salem Collectors and Flea Market at the Salem Armory, Josefine Fleetwood has decided to launch a second show at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center in Albany starting in September. Fleetwood is looking forward to the expansion, and feels that Albany is the perfect fit for this new event. According to Fleetwood, many of the Salem shoppers and vendors come from Albany, Corvallis, Lebanon, and Sweet Home, which made her realize the potential for a large flea market right off of I-5 in Albany. Fleetwood says, “I feel our business will be an asset to the community and will offer people a professionally managed flea market where they can sell their wares and earn an income.” The first show is Saturday, September 20, with spaces that will be full of antiques, collectables and much more. Fleetwood expects about 75 spaces filled with one of a kind items for collectors and treasure hunters. The Linn County Flea Market will offer early shopping admissions for $6 while the vendors are setting up between 7 and 9AM. Regular admission is $2 from 9AM until 2:30PM, with children 12 and under admitted free. There is no charge for parking. Those attending will be able to enjoy entertainment from the Musiccafe Rock Sschool. The Salem Collectors and Flea Market has been a sold out show for years featuring 150 vendors. Fleetwood says she has high hopes for the new Albany show and has had a great response already from potential vendors and shoppers. Fleetwood lives in Albany and also works at the Salem Chamber of Commerce. Potential interested vendors, including non-profits, can reach Fleetwood by calling 541-619-5708; or by emailing: info@ linncountyfleamarket.com. Information is also available online at the show website: www. linncountyfleamarket.com. You can also “Like” Linn County Flea Marketing on Facebook to stay updated.
There is a piece of Albany history that thousands of us drive by nearly every day without really giving it much thought. It is the city’s 105-year-old train station located along the tracks at 110 S.W. Tenth Avenue, adjacent to the Pacific Boulevard overpass. The station was built by the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1909 and, according to Amtrak’s Great American Stations website, is one of the oldest continually operating masonry railroad stations in the entire nation. At the time it was built and opened to passenger travel, Albany was called the “Hub of the Willamette Valley” because not only could you catch a train that connected Albany and the mid-valley to the rest of the nation, it was a major shipping hub for agricultural products, timber, and manufactured goods. Albany was the central point for rail, steamboat shipping, and trucking transportation. Albany’s railroad station even played a major role in Oregon sports when O.S.U and Oregon played their civil war football games at nearby Hudson Field, the sports field adjacent to the still-operating Central School on Ninth Avenue, in 1912 and 1913. Trains from throughout Oregon brought football fans to the Albany station where they could simply walk to the games and sit in the newly constructed wooden grandstands hastily built with funds raised
High
The backlit clock tower at the Albany station built with the financial help of the local Rotary club.
by city businessmen led by cigar store owner Billy Eagles. The Southern Pacific Railroad was eventually taken over by the Union Pacific which still owns the loading platform and mainline tracks. However, after years of slow deterioration, the station itself was obtained by the City of Albany in 2003. Between 2004 and 2006, an 11.3-million-dollar restoration project was done using federal, state, local and Amtrak funds. As a result, we now have a beautifully restored historic structure, both inside and out. The city also bought other nearby abandoned buildings and tore them down to create a beautifully landscaped parking area. Amtrak now runs six passenger trains with stops in Albany everyday. The Amtrak Coast Starlight makes one northbound and one southbound stop daily, connecting Seattle to Los Angeles. The Amtrak Cascades passenger trains make two northbound and two southbound stops daily while running between Eugene and Seattle. A lot of people ride these trains; last year the Albany Amtrak station generated over 1.7-million-dollars in revenue. The City of Albany has now also renovated the old adjacent Railway Express building and uses it as their dispatch center for transit programs such as buses, dial-a-ride and other transportation programs. Even if you don’t ride the train, stop by the station, go inside, and take a step back into railroad history.
The beautifully restored interior waiting room at the historic Albany train station.