The picturesque village of Albert Lea was platted in 1856. It wasn’t until 1868, however, when the Southern Minnesota Railroad built a line through town, that the community’s development accelerated. Albert Lea became a major railway juncture for southern Minnesota, leading to construction of a depot for the Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad at 606 South Broadway (also in 1868). A modern station replaced the original in 1914. The second structure supported rail networks connecting East...