Business Spotlight - Depot Art Center

Published on March 25, 2024

What was once a train stop for the Littleton residents, it is now an attraction for the city combining history and art.

In the mid-1960’s, the railroad ceased its route through Littleton and the Depot was scheduled to be demolished. A group of 10 artists found local funding and devoted countless hours to restore the building, moving it away from the train tracks to its new home at 2068 West Powers, just north of the Arapahoe Courthouse. It is now a Colorado Historic Landmark.

The City of Littleton still owns the building and maintains the exterior, allowing artists to showcase and sell their work inside. The historic structure houses the Littleton Fine Arts gallery with 60 artists contributing fine art in over 11 rotating shows per year.

Professional artists are juried into the gallery and their submitted work is judged by a local Denver artist for each show. Media of work is varied including oil, watercolor, jewelry, photography, sculpture, glass and multi-media. This year, there will be two shows will be open to all Colorado artists. For 9 years, the Littleton Baccalaureate Art Students have had two weeks to display their state-of-the-art designs.

In 1978, an 1898 Caboose was added to the site. This now displays award-winning Colorado Railroad photography.

Repurposed in 1977, the depot has been voted BEST by Colorado Community Media for many years. The gallery is open from 11-4 Tuesdays through Sundays and a glimpse of its history, current shows and artist profiles are available through the Depot Art Gallery website.

The railroad was crucial to the growth of Littleton in the 20th century; the Depot Art Gallery uses this historical location to ‘marry’ art and culture in Littleton for this century.