GENOA – National Train Day on May 12 had a special meaning in Genoa. The city is eagerly anticipating the arrival of Amtrak service in 2014. Downtown businesses are getting into the act by displaying more than three dozen train station designs created by Genoa-Kingston High School students. The artwork, presented at a city council meeting, is located in the windows of downtown businesses.

“By seeing the students’ ideas on display in businesses, downtown visitors can begin to anticipate the arrival of Amtrak,” said Mim Evans, executive director of Genoa Main Street.  “Everyone was very excited when it was announced that Genoa would be a stop on the new route. Now it’s pretty quiet and people might forget that things are being done behind the scenes to make this a reality.”

The students entered their work in the student architectural competition sponsored by AIA Northern Illinois, a component of the American Institute of Architects. The competition required them to design a station to fit a site of a specific size and a building larger than Genoa’s actual needs. No decisions have been made on the actual design or exact location of the station. Genoa-Kingston High School has participated in the competition since 2003.