Rail yard facilities just south of downtown, on Hiawatha Avenue north of Lake Street, serviced the trains.

The depot was closed in 1971 and stood vacant for many years as various redevelopment and reuse plans fizzled.

In 1980, rail access to the depot was severed when the Milwaukee Road abandoned most of its downtown Minneapolis trackage.

[6] In 1998, CSM Corporation began a project to reuse the depot, including a Renaissance Hotel and Residence Inn by Marriott, an indoor water park, and an enclosed outdoor ice skating rink located in the former trainshed.

[4] The water park was converted to additional guest rooms in 2015 during an expansion of the Renaissance Hotel.