Telegraph & Ticket Office
click the photo to continue
The Kelso telegraph and ticket office saw continuous use from when it first opened in 1924 until the Union Pacific closed its depot operations here in 1964. Like the adjoining conductor's room, the ticket office function of this room was always fairly minor due to the nature of passenger and train traffic in Kelso. As essentially a one-business town, all railroad employees had rail passes so the need to actually purchase train tickets was fairly infrequent. Nonetheless, the Kelso ticket office was fully stocked with the equipment, forms, and papers required to function for the few paying passengers — ranchers, cowhands, miners and prospectors — they had. Despite its often-quiet activity level, as a critical communication center for the railroad functions, the telegraph office was off limits to all but those who worked in it. As the level of activity increased in this small desert town after the United States entered World War II the office became increasingly busy with the hum of additional telegraph messages, phone calls and overall increased volume of work. While in other offices across the country women often stepped in during the war to fill positions previously held exclusively by men Kelso appears to have not had a female telegrapher until the 1950s.
Building Exterior
Front of depot
Arcade from east
Arcade from west
Tracks from front
Main Floor
Lobby
Beanery
Theatre
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Bookstore
Exhibit room
Baggage room
Ticket/Telegraph Office
Conductor's Office
Second Floor
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Exhibit room
Sleeping quarters
Sleeping quarters
Library
Map room
Basement
Meeting Room
