The depot is a two-story rectangular brick building that has a variety of design styles. The low-pitch hip roof is clad in red Spanish tiles. The lower floor has Roman arches around the doors and windows. There is extensive use of concrete in this building, in the quoins, keystones, imposts, and sills.^[2]

The depot was listed in the National Register of Historic Places for its association with the Nevada-California-Oregon Railway, for the railroad development of Nevada, and for its distinctive architecture.

The railroad was organized in Reno in June 1880 as the Nevada and Oregon Railroad. It was decided that the best plan was to build north to the Columbia River to service cattle ranches and farms in northeastern California and eastern Oregon. The company decided to lay narrow-gauge track because it was cheaper than standard gauge construction. It became one of the longest narrow-gauge railroads in the United States.^[2]

The railroad did well until the mid-1910s. In 1917, the railroad sold all of its holdings in the State of Nevada to the Western Pacific Railroad (WP). The WP then replaced the narrow-gauge track with standard gauge. The depot continued to serve the citizens of Reno until 1937. In 1937 there was no longer passenger service, however the depot was used as offices by the WP until 1975. The building was then sold to private individuals who used it for a variety of functions.^[2] After being abandoned for several years, in 2014, the building was heavily renovated for use as a restaurant and microbrewery called The Depot Craft Brewery Distillery, which opened the following year.^[3] The decor of the building acknowledges the building's past as a railroad depot and includes maps and schematics and other artifacts from the NCO and WP Railroads.

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