The old Union Pacific Depot was a gathering place to greet friends, family and visitors when they stopped in Salt Lake City for a visit.
In 2006, the train station will once more welcome guests to the capital city — musical guests. Singer/songwriters, rock bands, jazz bands, country artists and contemporary instrumental performers will be able to display their talents for Salt Lake audiences when the building reopens as the Depot, Gov. John Huntsman Jr. said during a ground- and guitar-breaking press conference Thursday evening.
"In the spirit of state promotion and tourism, we are looking forward to this new addition to downtown," Huntsman said.
The Depot will be a three-level food, drink and entertainment establishment that will open Jan. 4, said United Concerts president Jim C. McNeil, who is one of the partners.
"We will present music from all genres in our 1,200-seat concert hall on the second floor. The bottom floor will be a 220-seat fine-dining restaurant, and it will be like nothing we've had in Salt Lake City," he said.
McNeil didn't announce who will perform opening night.
"We're working on getting some good acts for that evening," he said.
The establishment will feature three levels — measuring 37,000 square feet, said architect Kevin Miller, who works for GSBS, an architecture, urban design and interior design firm based in Salt Lake City and Fort Worth, Texas. Miller was the point man in the design.
"I wanted to make sure the building kept its personality," he said. "This is a beautiful space. And I wanted to utilize what it was but at the same time bring a new element into it. I let the bones breathe while giving it new life."
This is the third time someone has eyed the Union Pacific Depot as a concert venue, Miller said. "We had the House of Blues try to do something, but the deal fell through. And then another company came in, but that deal was never done.
"This time it's going to work. And Jim's locally based. So he knows the audience here.
"Furthermore, the House of Blues has spent its time creating new structures and venues that are suppose to look like the one we're standing in."
Tiered seating, VIP boxes, a second-level balcony and state-of-the-art sound, lighting and staging will be one of the Depot's main draws, McNeil said. "The other will be the food."
McNeil and business partner David Cumming of Cumming Investment tapped into the Butterfly Restaurant, a California-Asian restaurant that originated on Pier 33 on San Francisco's landmark Embarcadero.
Dishes planned for the menu will include sashimi stir fry, steaks, seafood, soups and salads.
"This historic building has been vacant for far too long," Cumming said.
The Depot will be a private club, much in the same vein as the New Yorker, McNeil said.
"Families can come enjoy some of the performances, but this will be mainly an adult establishment," he said. "But there will be no smoking." Alison McFarlane, the city's senior adviser for economic development, was on hand to welcome the announcement with open arms.
"On behalf of Salt Lake City and its visitors, we are happy to have a place of this magnitude," she said.
E-mail: scott@desnews.com