No photos yet
About this vendor
We don‘t know Historic Union Depot‘s story by heart. Message them to get to know more about their business.
Amenities + details
Covered Outdoors Space
Dressing Room
Handicap Accessible
Indoor Event Space
Liability Insurance
On-Site Accommodations
Outdoor Event Space
Wireless Internet
Settings
- Historic Venue
Venue Service Offerings
- Food & Catering
- Service Staff
Reviews
Your trust is our goal. Our community relies on honest reviews to help you make those big decisions with ease.
3.1
out of 5.09 reviews
- Top reviews
- Newest first
- Oldest first
- Highest rated
- Lowest rated
Sort by
While the look and feel of the Depot is awesome, their customer service and communication is awful! I spoke with Mary numerous times that we wanted both the ceremony and reception there, with the cocktail/social hour in the museum. A few weeks before the wedding I emailed Mary to ask what time it would be okay to do a rehearsal, she responded back and said that they never had us down for a ceremony and the Depot was booked all day that Friday anyways... She never updated our contract and even after i asked her to add our ceremony, she still didn't. Miraculously the venue became available all Friday for our rehearsal, only after my wedding coordinator got involved. There were many other communication issues. Also they stated the acoustics would be fine because they have a "special sound system." Don't believe that. I understand there isn't anything they can do about high ceilings and echo but don't lie and say there won't be an echo. I didn't hate my venue, people thought it was great and kids had a lot of fun with the trains but I wouldn't choose it again because the people there are unprofessional.
The Depot was a beautiful place to have a wedding reception, they worked well with us and the event turned out beautiful. It was really nice to be able to cater from wherever we wanted.
I had always dreamed that I would have my wedding reception at the Depot. However once I got engaged and began the wedding planning process this quickly changed. We were engaged in August and were planning a June wedding (a little less than a 2 year engagement) and I immediately contacted Mary at the Depot and it took her a month to get back to me in the first place. After expressing serious interest in holding our reception there, the response time improved slightly and then she stopped responding to emails/calls all together. After leaving numerous voicemails/emails (by the end of December), I made one more attempt and threatened to go elsewhere for our reception and surprisingly enough there was a response the next day! She told me that she never received my voicemails or emails. When I requested a contract to look over and sign for our reception it took her a month (she sent it in February) to get it to us. The contract that she did send us had important details (the date, price, & bar requests) that were completely wrong! Her response to that was to cross them out and write in the correct information, I told her no and that I wanted it corrected before signing it. I never heard anything back from her and have now chosen to go elsewhere. The Depot has so much potential to be the popular venue if it was better organized and ran! But until then, it is NOT worth the stress!
Mary did a wonderful job. Only complaint is that none of the tables were set up in the morning for the caterer.
We had our reception at the beautiful Historic Depot in Duluth! The Great Hall has beautiful arches, lots of windows, and is a great setting for dinner and dancing. We hosted our cocktail hour in the train museum where guests could mingle or walk around to check out all the old trains. It was a really unique reception locations and our wedding guests really enjoyed themselves!
The depot is a beautiful location, and probably the best value in the area for a reception venue. (only option is $5000 or under, but depot is under $1000.) However, the contact there is extremely difficult to get a hold of. Also, they "accidentally" booked a luncheon in the same hall the day of my wedding. They did the decorating for us at no charge since we couldn't get in to do it ourselves, as planned, but I had no idea how it would look until we got there. It was gorgeous, even so, but a bit nerve wracking to get that call two days before the event.
We had our reception at the Duluth Depot as we thought it was absolutely beautiful and it was one of the only venues that would allow you to choose your own catering service. However, from the get go we encountered problems. First, we weren't able to reserve the venue for the date we wanted. Even after several communications with Mary, she gave it to someone else without even so much as notifying me. Next, she lost our damage deposit. She told my mother that she must have it but couldn't locate it but then after the wedding tried to say I had never sent it. Then, the wrong color of linens were ordered (white instead of ivory, not the biggest deal but still.) Here however, they did give us a discount which was acceptable. Next, the bartenders starting charging our guests for drinks $600 before we met our limit (where was that cash going??) And finally, overall the communication was poor. Mary tried to say she told me many things that she didn't such as that everything needed to be cleared off the tables by the end of the reception, etc. Overall the venue was beautiful and we received many many compliments but the stress making it happen was excessive.
We loved the historic feel of the Depot and the fun options the train museum added. Our reception was great, but working with the Depot was less than easy. While they were very kind, we were frustrated with the poor communication with Depot staff. They seem to have too many hats to wear, and weddings are not top on the list. If it could improve its services, the Depot would be a great venue in a city that does not have a lot of competition.
We had our reception here with about 230 guests. The site is very pretty, and you can rent out the train depot so guests can explore before the wedding party arrives. The people we dealt with weren't the easiest to work with-i.e. at times they were hard to get a hold of, but everything worked out well.
Contact
506 W Michigan St, Duluth, MN
Historic Union Depot
Historic Union Depot's photos