Jim Transue, of Lawrence, applies a coat of wax Sunday to the floor of the train depot at Seventh and New Jersey streets. Volunteers are cleaning the depot, of which the city of Lawrence seeks ownership.

The passenger rail station is being cleaned and repaired by Depot Redux, Lawrence Moderns and other volunteers.

The mouse droppings have been removed and the windows washed. Cobwebs have been swept away and the parking lot cleared of years of sand buildup.

On Sunday, the ongoing effort to restore the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Depot in east Lawrence to its original 1950s condition continued with the stripping and polishing of the building’s terrazzo floor.

“For many people, this is their first view of Lawrence,” said Richard Kershenbaum, an east Lawrence resident who assisted with the cleanup. “We want to make this a beautiful and welcoming facility for people who board the train here and get off here.”

Kershenbaum is part of a community group called Depot Redux, which supports the depot’s restoration.

Preliminary estimates indicated it could cost about $400,000 to make the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and more than $100,000 for several repairs, including fixing the roof.

Lawrence City Commission in June directed staff to start talks with Burlington Northern Santa Fe for the low-cost purchase of the depot. The railroad has indicated it would sell the depot to the city for $1. With those talks expected to take more than a year, volunteers are continuing their effort to clean the property.

About 10 people assisted in Sunday’s work on the depot’s floors. Volunteers gather once a month to work on the building, said Carey Maynard-Moody, chairwoman of the Depot Redux board. She pointed out that the project has had assistance from Lawrence Modern, an area group interested in modern architecture, and others.

“The finishing of the floors today is an example of the community coming together,” Maynard-Moody said. “That’s the one thing that’s been very heartening about this project.”

She said the project has brought together a variety of people including neighborhood residents, city staff, Lawrence Modern members and historic preservationists.

“It brings a mixture of people who come down and they see the marble in the floor and they learn how the floors were made,” Maynard-Moody said. “This whole education/participation project is just swelling as this project is taking on a life of its own and more people are getting involved. It’s a snowball.”

Kansas University architect Warren Corman was an original architect on the depot, an example of Midwest modern architecture. The building now is eligible for designation on the National Register of Historic Places.

Dennis Domer, a retired Kansas University professor of architecture who assisted in the Sunday’s cleanup, complimented the building’s design.

“It’s very sleek, very symbolic of speed and modern technology and forward thinking,” Domer said. “It made Lawrence in 1955 look like it was on the cutting edge.”