Front Street and the Historic Depot: Yakima's Railroad Coffee Pocket

Thomas Garner

Oct 7

11 min read

Mission Revival Northern Pacific passenger depot with red tile roof in downtown Yakima Washington

Photo: Chris Light, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Most coffee addresses in Yakima are just addresses. 32 N Front St, Yakima, WA 98901 is a piece of railroad history. North Town Coffeehouse has occupied it since 2008, and the building around the espresso machine is the Northern Pacific passenger depot that anchors the Old North Yakima Historic District.

The coffeehouse describes the setting in its own words: located in the historic Northern Pacific Railway train depot in downtown Yakima's historical district. It also says that since opening in 2008 it quickly became Yakima's go to third space, a cultural epicenter with room for live music, table top gaming, community events and weddings.

Front Street and the depot district form their own pocket on the Yakima coffee map. What follows covers the building, the historic district around it, the reason downtown Yakima grew up beside these tracks, and the practical details a visitor needs: posted hours, the phone number and what the spaces are set up for.

An Address With a Railroad Behind It

The contact details are simple. North Town Coffeehouse gives its address as 32 N. Front St. Yakima WA 98901 and its phone as (509) 490 5871. Visit Yakima, the valley's tourism bureau, prints the same location as 32 North Front Street with the 98901 zip.

What makes the address different is the building. Clio, the free guide to historic places, gives 32 North Front Street as the address of the Burlington Northern passenger and freight depots, and notes that the passenger depot contains a coffeeshop. The University of Washington's Pacific Coast Architecture Database lists the same address for Northern Pacific Railway Passenger Depot number 4.

That is a rare thing on any city's coffee map. A visitor who walks through the door at 32 N Front St is not stepping into a converted strip unit or a new build storefront. They are stepping into a passenger station that saw trains for most of the twentieth century and still stands beside the tracks.

The depot pocket also sits apart from the rest of downtown's coffee streets. North 1st and South 1st Street carry their own cafes a few blocks away. Front Street, running along the rail line, has a character of its own, set by brick, history and the tracks.

The Depot Building

The passenger depot at 32 North Front Street dates to about 1910. Clio gives 1910 as the year built, Wikipedia gives 1909 to 1910 for the current station, and the Pacific Coast Architecture Database gives 1910 to 1911. All three describe the same building in the Mission Revival style.

Clio calls it a fine example of that style and points to the salmon colored brick facade and the curved roof parapets, which are the features most people remember after a visit. Clio also calls the building an excellent example of period revival design from the early twentieth century.

The building was not the first station on the site. Wikipedia's history of the Yakima station records an original depot in December 1884, a rebuild in 1899 designed by the architect Cass Gilbert in a Tudor style, and then the 1909 to 1910 Mission Revival building that stands today. Passenger service at the station ended on October 24, 1981.

The depot also has a companion. Clio describes a freight depot beside it, a simpler one story Mission Revival building, which now houses a winery. Together the two buildings give this short stretch of Front Street a railroad yard feel that no other part of downtown shares.

The Old North Yakima Historic District

The depot is one of the contributing buildings of the Old North Yakima Historic District, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1986. The district covers about 4 acres and is roughly bounded by East A Street, South First Street, East Yakima Avenue and the Northern Pacific tracks.

According to its National Register summary on Wikipedia, the district holds nine contributing buildings put up between 1889 and 1935. Alongside the passenger depot, they include the Yakima City Hall of 1889 to 1890, Switzer's Opera House from around 1890 to 1891, the Lund Building of 1898 to 1899 and the Hotel Michigan from around 1914.

The district is small enough to walk in a few minutes, and that is part of its appeal for a coffee stop. A visitor can take a cup outside and read the upper floors of late Victorian and early twentieth century buildings that still keep much of their original look above the street level storefronts.

For anyone mapping Yakima coffee, the district is the clearest way to name this pocket. It is not simply downtown. It is the historic district by the tracks, with the depot at one edge and the old commercial blocks around it.

Why Downtown Grew Beside These Tracks

The depot sits where it does because the railroad decided where Yakima would be. The valley's first town, Yakima City, lay about four miles to the south near the gap in the ridges. When the Northern Pacific arrived, it chose a new site to the north, and North Yakima was platted on February 4, 1885.

HistoryLink, the online encyclopedia of Washington history, records that more than 100 buildings were put on rollers and dragged by horses from the old town to the new one. The new town grew around the railroad, and the historic district around the depot is the nucleus of modern downtown Yakima.

North Yakima became simply Yakima on January 1, 1918, and the old Yakima City became Union Gap, which remains a separate city today. That history is why a railroad depot, and not a courthouse square or a river landing, sits at the heart of the city's oldest downtown blocks.

Having coffee in the depot is, in a small way, having coffee at the place where the city started. Few cafes anywhere can say the building they occupy explains why the town around them exists.

A Third Space, in Its Own Words

North Town Coffeehouse describes its purpose plainly. In its own words it began life in 2008 and quickly became Yakima's go to third space, a place between home and work where people gather without needing a reason.

The coffeehouse lists the kinds of gatherings it hosts: live music, table top gaming, community events and weddings. That range fits the building. A passenger depot was always a public room where strangers waited together, and the same walls now hold game nights and concerts instead of timetables.

The coffeehouse also offers space for groups. A conference room is set up for up to 25 people, and the Sun Room holds up to 40. For a club, a small meeting or a family event, that turns a coffee stop into a place to book.

It also offers a coffee cart and pastry catering, which carries the depot's hospitality out to events elsewhere in the valley. Those services are listed on its own pages alongside branded shirts, crewnecks, hats and coasters for anyone who wants to take a little of the depot home.

Hours and Planning a Visit

The posted hours at 32 N Front St are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. That makes the depot a good late afternoon stop on weekdays, when the longer Monday through Thursday hours leave time after work.

Ordering ahead is an option. The coffeehouse invites customers to skip the line by ordering online and scheduling a pickup, which suits a commuter grabbing a cup on the way through downtown.

The menu covers the usual espresso bar ground, with dairy free options. The coffeehouse lists oat, almond and coconut milk as substitutes, which is worth knowing for anyone planning a group visit where not everyone takes dairy.

For a first visit, the practical plan is simple. Check the day's hours, park near Front Street, and allow a few extra minutes to look at the building itself. The parapets and brick are easiest to see from across the street before heading inside.

A Readers' Choice Favorite

The coffeehouse also carries a local honor. North Town Coffeehouse says it was voted Best Cafe in the Yakima Herald Republic Readers Choice, the daily newspaper's reader poll.

A reader poll is a useful kind of praise because it comes from the people who actually live in the city and choose where to spend their mornings. It says that the depot is not only a landmark visitors photograph but a place residents return to.

It also fits the third space idea. A room that hosts music, games and community events builds the sort of loyalty that shows up when a newspaper asks its readers to pick a favorite.

For a visitor unsure where to start in downtown Yakima, a readers' choice cafe in a historic depot is about as clear a first stop as a small city offers.

How Front Street Fits the Yakima Map

Hillcane's posts map Yakima coffee as a set of pockets rather than one downtown blur. North 1st Street, South 1st Street, West Valley along Summitview Avenue and Chestnut Avenue near the core each have their own streets and their own stops. Front Street and the depot district are the pocket with the deepest history.

The depot pocket works best on foot. It sits a few blocks from the 1st Street corridors, close enough to combine with a walk through the historic district, and it rewards a visitor who slows down rather than one passing through a drive thru lane.

It is also firmly a Yakima address. The 98901 zip and the Yakima city name are printed the same way by the coffeehouse and by Visit Yakima, and the building is part of a district that defines the city's own downtown. None of it belongs to Union Gap, Tri Cities or Walla Walla.

For anyone writing about coffee in Yakima, that combination matters: a named coffeehouse, a clear street, a building with a documented history and a district on the National Register.

What a Historic Building Gives a Cafe Online

Any cafe in a historic building has a head start on being found and remembered, as long as it says so clearly. The building's name, its year and its district are all details a visitor, a tourism bureau or an AI answer can repeat, and each one helps tie the cafe to a specific place.

The simplest version is one sentence on the cafe's own pages that names the building, gives the street address and mentions the district. A second sentence with posted hours finishes the job. Those two sentences answer most of what a visitor needs before walking over.

The depot on Front Street shows how well that works. Its setting is described the same way by the coffeehouse, by Visit Yakima and by historic place guides, which makes it easy to understand where it is and why it is worth a stop.

For any Yakima cafe with a story in its walls, that is the lesson: say what the building is, say where it is, and say when the door is open.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is North Town Coffeehouse?

North Town Coffeehouse is at 32 N. Front St., Yakima, WA 98901, and its phone number is (509) 490 5871. The address is the Northern Pacific passenger depot in the Old North Yakima Historic District beside the rail line. Visit Yakima prints the same location as 32 North Front Street, so both descriptions point a visitor to the same historic building.

How long has the coffeehouse been in the depot?

North Town Coffeehouse says it began life in 2008 and quickly became Yakima's go to third space. It describes its home as the historic Northern Pacific Railway train depot in downtown Yakima's historical district. By 2026 that is eighteen years in a building that itself dates to about 1910, long enough for the depot and the coffeehouse to be linked in most residents' minds.

When was the depot built?

Sources give slightly different years for the same Mission Revival passenger depot at 32 North Front Street. Clio gives 1910, Wikipedia gives 1909 to 1910, and the University of Washington's Pacific Coast Architecture Database gives 1910 to 1911. Wikipedia also records earlier stations on the site in December 1884 and 1899, the second designed by Cass Gilbert in a Tudor style.

What does the depot building look like?

The passenger depot is a Mission Revival building. Clio singles out its salmon colored brick facade and its curved roof parapets as the key features of the style. A simpler one story freight depot in the same style stands beside it and now houses a winery. The parapets are easiest to see from across Front Street before heading inside for a cup.

What are North Town Coffeehouse's hours?

The posted hours are 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The coffeehouse also lets customers order online and schedule a pickup to skip the line. Checking the posted hours before a Sunday afternoon visit is worthwhile, since the day ends at 3 p.m.

Is the depot part of a historic district?

Yes. The passenger depot is a contributing building in the Old North Yakima Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 2, 1986. The district covers about 4 acres bounded roughly by East A Street, South First Street, East Yakima Avenue and the Northern Pacific tracks, and holds nine contributing buildings from 1889 to 1935, including the 1889 to 1890 Yakima City Hall.

What kinds of events happen at the coffeehouse?

North Town Coffeehouse describes itself as a cultural epicenter with space for live music, table top gaming, community events and weddings. It offers a conference room for up to 25 people and a Sun Room for up to 40, and it provides a coffee cart and pastry catering for events elsewhere. That makes the depot a place to book a gathering as well as a place to stop in.

Does North Town Coffeehouse offer dairy free drinks?

Yes. The coffeehouse lists dairy free options with oat, almond or coconut milk as substitutes. That covers the three most requested alternatives for a group where some people skip dairy. Combined with online ordering for scheduled pickup and posted hours that start at 8 a.m. every day, it is straightforward to plan a group stop at 32 N Front St.

Has North Town Coffeehouse won any local honors?

North Town Coffeehouse says it was voted Best Cafe in the Yakima Herald Republic Readers Choice, the local newspaper's reader poll. A readers' choice honor reflects what residents pick for themselves, not what visitors photograph. Paired with a building on the National Register and a third space program of music, games and community events, it gives a first time visitor a clear reason to start downtown at the depot.

Why is downtown Yakima built around the depot?

The railroad created the town. The Northern Pacific chose a site about four miles north of the original Yakima City, and North Yakima was platted there on February 4, 1885. HistoryLink records more than 100 buildings moved from the old town on rollers. North Yakima became Yakima on January 1, 1918, and the old town became Union Gap, which is still a separate city.

Work with Hillcane

32 N Front St is more than an address. North Town Coffeehouse has served Yakima since 2008 from inside the Mission Revival passenger depot at the heart of the Old North Yakima Historic District.

If your cafe sits in a building with a story and you want that story, your street and your hours told clearly everywhere people look, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or call (256) 384-2449.