So we went and drove around and looked at some places and talked to some people,
 and there was an old shopping center in the southeast that had gone broke and the
 owner talked to us about that, but he did not really want to give it to us. He wanted
 to sell it. So we got to talking to the city about the train depot.

P: This is on northwest Sixth Street.

R: Sixth Street and University Avenue, right. We said, "You know, we would like to get
 closer to town." We went looking for space, and could not find anything. I
 wondered about this space, whether it is sound, etc. So we looked at the building
 and the opinion was it was sound as a rock.

 So then we talked to the city about the fact we would need a lot of help and a lot
 of support. We could not use any state dollars, had to do it all with private money.
 We hoped this would do a lot for the area, we hoped the city would see it that way
 and would help us with paving and cleaning up and that sort of thing, and maybe
 acquiring some of the worst property around there. Well, the city got into it with
 us in full partnership, and I met with the board.

P: You had the endorsement of the paper.

R: Oh, yes. I went and talked with the paper at great length, never missed a bet with
 the paper.

P: You talked to the city commission.

R: [I] talked to the city commission and talked to my own board, of course, first. Then,
 of course, the endowment board was vital because they had to raise the money, and,
 again, everybody said, "You cannot raise that much."

P: About how much?

R: $750,000.

P: Now, $750,000 was to pay for the renovations?

R: Yes.

P: The city was going to give you the property.

R: Yes. The city was going to give us the property. The city was going to do the paving
 and that sort of thing.

P: Is that still a functioning railroad line there? Do freight trains go there?

R: No.


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