When the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad depot was completed in1903, it was a model of modern convenience linking Red Oak Iowa to more urban communities. Until the lifelines of railroads joined the rural communities to more metropolitan societies, the rural communities were virtually inaccessible by any method of transport. The Restored Burlington Northern Depot now houses a WWII Memorial museum that is dedicated to all those who served in the Second World War.

The architecture of the depot is the Richardson Romanesque Style that influenced the first Chicago School of architecture and architects such as Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright. Named after Henry Hobson Richardson, the style follows Romanesque Revival Style, incorporating 11th Century southern French and Spanish Romanesque characteristics, plus Richardson designs, which can be observed on the Depot, in the form of recessed window arches, polychromatic use of two colors of stone, hip roof, arches that sit on the columns and stone stringer courses. Another structure constructed in the Richardson Romanesque style is situated a few city blocks directly north of the depot. The Restored Burlington Northern Depot and WWII Memorial Museum is a project of the Depot Hill Historic Preservation District and is one among the National Register of Historic places. These are the cultural resources worthy of preservation, administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

 Ali Sharaf , the owner of the Red Oak Town Village Apartments, has recently announced the Grand opening of Phase 2. The Red Oak Town Village has contributed millions of dollars into the economy of Red Oak.