If you stand on the sidewalk near the “DANGER” sign where the railroad tracks cross Evergreen Avenue and look north, there is nothing to see except the Redmond water tank in the distance.

But 111 years ago in April, workmen were putting the finishing touches on the Redmond railroad station on the west side of the tracks right where Route 97 will be built in 2008. The men are working seven days a week to finish the station by April 1912, when scheduled passenger service begins. Special fares will be offered to celebrate the opening of the new station. A special ticket to Chicago will cost $33.

James Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railroad, had won the railroad war. He got his tracks to the lucrative lumber market of Central Oregon before Edward Harriman, owner of the Union Pacific Railroad. On Sept. 21, 1911, Hill came to Redmond to see the golden spike driven, give a rousing speech and recite an uplifting poem to the crowd.

He offered to build the standard wooden railroad station for the town, but Redmond’s 216 citizens — with their usual enthusiasm and city pride voted to spend the extra $450 (no small amount) for a large, stone station with a floor of crushed Italian marble. When the station was finished, the Spokesman declared it “without question, the finest on the line.”

The finished station originally stood between Evergreen and Antler avenues. It is a good example of the sturdy Craftsman style meant to counteract the excesses of Victorian architecture. It has since survived a complete teardown and removal — one numbered stone at a time — to its present location at SW 21st Place, just off Airport Way.

It’s a great old building, still defying specious originality and worth a visit. You’ll know you are in the right place if you can get a cup of coffee, a goodie to go with it, and be able to peruse a great selection of historic Redmond pictures on every wall.