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Some people see romance where others see ruins. Dixie was one of the former.

The aging Railway Express Agency building, next to the Amtrak station on 13th Street in Salem, may not look like much in its weather-protective wrapping. But Dixie, when she and her husband strolled by, saw an era of charm and grace featuring train whistles and Pullman porters, and smartly dressed travelers clinking glasses in the lounge car.

Soon the building will be known as Dixie’s Depot.

It will be named in her honor because her husband, still mourning her recent death, wants other people to see the largely forgotten building the way she saw it. He anonymously donated $100,000 to the city of Salem to help pay for its restoration.

鈥淚t is a truly beautiful and touching story,鈥� said Kimberli Fitzgerald, senior historic planner for the city of Salem. 鈥淒ixie loved that building.鈥�

The mysterious widower insists on remaining anonymous, Fitzgerald said, in part because he wants any attention focused on Dixie.

The building was part of Salem’s second train depot. The city’s original station was built in 1871 and burned down 14 years later. The second station, a Queen Anne-style building, was built in 1889 and burned down in 1917 鈥� the day before the United States entered World War I.

The smaller 鈥渂aggage depot,鈥� as it was known, was salvaged from the second fire and then moved 100 feet south and rotated 180 degrees. It was used for freight purposes until the 1970s.

It still retains some of the Queen Anne-style architectural elements of the 1880s station. Such period touches will be preserved, Fitzgerald said.

Salem’s present station, a Beaux-Arts-style structure built in 1918, is one of only five masonry depots that still exist along the original Southern Pacific West Coast rail line. The others are in Albany, Medford, Roseburg and Eugene.

鈥淭his really is an exciting project; it speaks to a forgotten piece of Salem history,鈥� Fitzgerald said.

In addition to the $100,000 donated by Dixie’s husband, Fitzgerald’s office secured $20,000 via a Preserve Oregon grant from the State Historic Preservation Office. The Oregon Department of Transportation, which owns the building, will at least match the $20,000 grant, according to public affairs representative Shelley Snow.

鈥淭here are layers of bureaucracy to go through,鈥� she said. 鈥淎 proposal first has to go before the citizens sitting on the Transportation Advisory Committee before being sent to the Oregon Transportation Commission.鈥�

Greyhound Lines will help pay for the renovation, Snow said. Greyhound executives want to use the building as a bus depot, to replace the one on Church Street.

Hal Gard, the rail division administrator for ODOT, said the entire project will cost approximately $1.3 million.

Plans call for the building being rehabilitated in phases if and when money becomes available. Phase 1 would cost about $371,000 and include exterior work to preserve the building and meet historical requirements of the State Historic Preservation Office. Phase 2 would cost about $300,000 and include interior renovations. An additional $50,000 would be needed to include utilities. Phase 3 would cost about $250,000 and include sidewalks, landscaping and lighting. Additional money would pay for other features, such as interpretive panels.

鈥淭here are several partners contributing funds from various sources/programs, and some of them have requirements,鈥� Snow said. 鈥淲e will know more when the proposal is 鈥榩ackaged’ for the advisory committee.鈥�

Saving an old train depot is relatively common, said railroad historian Kevin Bunker of Portland.

鈥淭here’s usually at least one (West Coast) depot restoration per decade, although the recession has some effect on the number of depots that get saved,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here are some great gems that still managed to get bulldozed. It tears at my heart.鈥�

Bunker said Dixie’s Depot is an exciting project because Salem has enough people, money and energy to guarantee a successful renovation.

鈥淚 am a railroad historian first and foremost, so I feel if you can save anything, and make it something good for the community, it’s a great idea,鈥� he said.