The old depot burned November 15, 1916, and construction of the brick depot began August 27, 1917, when a large steam shovel moved to the site.  A temporary track was laid to the new site so that the clamshell engine could work there.

The contract was let to J.C. Duncan of St. Louis and the depot was built for $16,200, exclusive of the furnishings.  The building was ready for an open house in January 1918 and a crowd surged through the new depot despite cold weather and bad roads.

The building was described by the Downs News and Times: 105 feet long, built of dark brown brick, trimmed with white stone.  The roof was of red tile and the floor was concrete.  The interior was finished in curly maple.  All of the furniture, benches, seats, etc., were of quarter-sawed oak.

At the west end of the large waiting room was a ladies' rest room with oak benches and rocking chairs.  The toilet room and main waiting room were finished in Georgia marble.  A bubble drinking fountain stood in the waiting room.  The depot was heated by steam radiators from a team plant in the basement.

In front was a brink platform reaching from Morgan Avenue to the Lowenstein produce house, a distance of 565 feet.  Along the platform were ornamental lamp posts.  Electricians wired the building and the White Way along the platform, and these were illuminated for the first time when a train arrived from the east.

The News and Times described it as "one of the handsomest and most modern passenger stations on the Central Branch," not as large as those at Beloit and Concordia but more modern.