In 1994, Harry Gottwals had just moved to Billings from Annapolis, Md., a community of Colonial American charm, when he and his wife decided to explore their new town.

Driving down Montana Avenue, Gottwals slammed on the brakes when he saw the Union Depot.

"That's when the bug bit me," he said.

Even though it was boarded up and its exterior was shabby, the building expressed bold character.

"It made a statement: 'I am important,' " Gottwals said.

Then president of First Bank, Gottwals became an energetic part of the renovation of the depot complex of four buildings, which are the focus of a centennial celebration starting Friday.

It would take years for that to happen.

Closed since 1979, when Amtrak passenger service ended in Billings, the depot had been stripped of original furnishings, including the doors and light fixtures. Pigeons and vagrants moved in. Transients kept warm by starting fires in metal barrels that charred the wood floor of the baggage side of the depot.

"It was a miracle that the building didn't burn down," Gottwals said during a recent tour of the building.

There was talk about tearing down the building.

Local residents had organized several attempts to restore the depot, but they never could raise enough money.

Then in 1994 some members of the Billings Preservation Society formed another nonprofit group, Billings Depot Inc.

In addition to Gottwals, many Billings residents donated their time on architectural designs, business plans and raising money.

Billings attorney Bruce Toole spent hundreds of hours volunteering over three years to hammer out complex legal deals among the city, the railroad and the nonprofit group to make the renovation possible.

A major shot in the arm came from the Phillips Morris Co., which paid $500,000 to fix up the outside of the depot for a train it planned to send through town. The train never came, but locals got the money to replace the roof and sidewalks. They also took down boards from windows and removed graffiti.

With donations, federal grants, help from then-U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns, tax increment district money and $500,000 raised through the Horse of Course fundraiser, the four buildings in the complex were renovated.

The beanery, originally completed in 1909, was the first building restored and turned into a restaurant. McCleary's Tavern now operates there.

A two-story office building constructed in the 1940s for Burlington Northern regional offices was refurbished.

A postal building built in the 1920s to handle mail coming in and going out on trains will be used during the depot's centennial celebration this month, after which it will be remodeled into professional office space.

The depot, defined by a vaulted-ceiling passenger waiting room and large baggage room, became the centerpiece of the restoration.

As much of the original building was preserved as possible, including the terrazzo floor in the waiting room. Even a depression worn into the floor in front of the busiest ticket window remains.

A decaying roof allowed rain to seep in and destroy most of the decorative plaster band high on the walls. The best surviving section was used to make a mold to create new sections.

During the 1991 filming of the movie "Far and Away," wainscoting was glued to the base of the four columns, which damaged the original white tile. When it was replaced, two shades of white tile were used to replicate the aged look of original tiles left in the building.

Light fixtures are replicas from the period when the depot was built. Dual-pane windows and modern heating and air conditioning keep the building comfortable year-round.

Layers of paint were chipped away to the original deep sage green color that was used again to cover the waiting room ceiling.

Outside, crumbling concrete was jack-hammered and replaced. The portico was rebuilt.

Bricks found under the asphalt along Montana Avenue were set down for a sidewalk along the track.

Now the depot, which has a large caterer-friendly kitchen, is rented out most weekends for weddings, conferences and meetings with some events scheduled into 2011.

The land continues to be owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe and leased to Montana Rail Link.

MRL, which owned the depot, beanery and postal building, gave them to the city. BDI bought BN's two-story office building, renovated it and now leases to the city.

BDI now manages all four buildings.

Gottwals, who moved to Wyoming a few years ago, now is interim executive director of BDI until a permanent director is found.

Just as it did when it was built 100 years ago, the depot continues to have wider implications for Billings.

The depot boosted efforts to revitalize Montana Avenue and other parts of downtown Billings, Gottwals said.

Dennis Deppmeier's architectural offices were on the third floor of the Rex Hotel across Montana Avenue from the depot 15 years ago when transients were the primary foot traffic along the street. With few shade trees, the avenue was a hot, uninviting place to visit.

After the Phillip Morris money cleaned up the exterior of the depot, people became interested in Montana Avenue and supporting businesses already there. New businesses sprang up.

Mike Schaer has owned property on Montana Avenue for more than 26 years and relocated his Computers Unlimited company there.

Bringing the depot back to life has been an integral part of the renaissance of Montana Avenue, he said.

If a refurbished depot helped Montana Avenue, an eye-catching Montana Avenue has helped keep visitors coming to the depot.

Lead by Schaer and restaurateur Gene Burgad, property owners set up a special improvement district to pay for streetscaping to spruce up several blocks of the avenue.

A key to the continuing vitality of the area has been a large parking lot running east of the depot and two-hour free parking along the avenue, Schaer said.

What will happen to the depot over the next 100 years is anybody's guess.

There is talk that a southern passenger railroad service might start up.

That's not likely to happen any time soon, Gottwals said.

"It would take scillions of dollars and millions of details to get the train going," he said.

Even if passenger trains rolled through Billings again, Amtrak probably wouldn't use the stately depot that once welcomed passengers.

Tickets might be dispensed by machines, and only a small space like the postal building would be needed for people to get in out of the weather.

"Things are different now than 100 years ago," Gottwals said.

Contact Mary Pickett at mpickett@billingsgazette.com or 657-1262.