Depot Day shatters registration records
WALLACE – It was a record-breaking year for the Inland Northwest’s longest running car show, as Depot Day brought hundreds of class cars and thousands of people to look at them.
According to Kathy Harper, director of the Northern Pacific Depot Museum, 319 vehicles registered for the show, up from last year's 307, and nearly 2,500 people made their way into town.
74 trophies were awarded, but it was Spokane’s Gary Damm’s 1957 Chevy Nomad who brought home the prestigious Best of Show trophy.
“It was a great kick-off to our summer season,” Harper said. “Thanks to our volunteers, local businesses, Dave Smith, O’Reilly Auto Parts, and Idaho Strategic Resources.”
The one-day festival celebrates a part of Wallace lore: the historic moving of the Northern Pacific Railroad Depot from its original location on the north side of the Coeur d’Alene River to its current location, where it operates as a museum.
“Depot Day celebrates the gem of Wallace,” Cindy Lein said previously. “A building that has existed since 1901, moved in 1986 and represents how Wallace and the surrounding areas came to be. The railroads were the reason so much ore was able to be processed and wealth came to the area. The Depot is that iconic landmark. Her image is on posters, signs, t-shirts, she’s a superstar.”
Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of the move, while also coinciding with the Depot’s 125th birthday, which Harper believes will make for an even bigger celebration.
The annual Depot Day raffle was won by locals Elmer and Corki Mattila, who won a framed print of the Depot that is surrounded by commemorative coins minted by the Sunshine Mine.
The Northern Pacific Railroad Depot is one of three major museums in Wallace, along with the Wallace District Mining Museum, and the Barnard-Stockbridge Museum. These three entities operate daily throughout the tourism season - May through September - and all three can be visited using a single pass.
For more information, call (208)752-0111 or visit www.npdepot.org.
Gary Damm, pictured with wife Sharon, won Best of Show at the 2025 Depot Day Car Show.