Erie Depot
Encyclopedia
The Erie Depot, officially known as the Erie Railroad Station, is located at the corner of Jersey Avenue and Fowler Street in Port Jervis
, New York
. It was built in 1892 as a passenger station for the Erie Railroad
by Grattan & Jennings in a Queen Anne
style. For many years it was the busiest passenger station on the railroad's Delaware Branch, owing to Port Jervis's position on the Delaware River
near where New York, New Jersey
, and Pennsylvania
converge.
The decline in passenger rail traffic in the mid-20th century eventually led the railroad to end all passenger service between Port Jervis and Binghamton
in 1970. Commuter service to Hoboken
was taken over by the MTA
's Metro-North Railroad
shortly thereafter. Metro-North chose not to use the old station for what it called the Port Jervis Line
, electing instead to build a minimalist station
of its own, consisting of a parking lot
, shelter and street-level concrete platform
several hundred feet further down the tracks.
The old building began to decline, as the city itself did with the absence of the railroad, until it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1980. Since then it has been renovated and today houses several small shops on the street side.
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was built in 1892 as a passenger station for the Erie Railroad
Erie Railroad
The Erie Railroad was a railroad that operated in New York State, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, originally connecting New York City with Lake Erie...
by Grattan & Jennings in a Queen Anne
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
style. For many years it was the busiest passenger station on the railroad's Delaware Branch, owing to Port Jervis's position on the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
near where New York, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
converge.
The decline in passenger rail traffic in the mid-20th century eventually led the railroad to end all passenger service between Port Jervis and Binghamton
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
in 1970. Commuter service to Hoboken
Hoboken Terminal
Hoboken Terminal is one of the New York Metropolitan area's major transportation hubs. The commuter-oriented intermodal facility, is located on the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey...
was taken over by the MTA
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (New York)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the U.S...
's Metro-North Railroad
Metro-North Railroad
The Metro-North Commuter Railroad , trading as MTA Metro-North Railroad, or, more commonly, Metro-North, is a suburban commuter rail service that is run and managed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , an authority of New York State. It is the busiest commuter railroad in the United...
shortly thereafter. Metro-North chose not to use the old station for what it called the Port Jervis Line
Port Jervis Line (Metro-North)
The Metro-North Railroad Port Jervis Line is a predominantly single-track commuter rail line running from Suffern, New York to Port Jervis. At Suffern, the line continues south into New Jersey as NJ Transit's Main Line....
, electing instead to build a minimalist station
Port Jervis (Metro-North station)
The Port Jervis Metro-North station serves the residents of that city and surrounding communities. It is the western terminus of the Port Jervis Line, with trains taking New York City-bound passengers there via Hoboken and Secaucus Junction...
of its own, consisting of a parking lot
Parking lot
A parking lot , also known as car lot, is a cleared area that is intended for parking vehicles. Usually, the term refers to a dedicated area that has been provided with a durable or semi-durable surface....
, shelter and street-level concrete platform
Railway platform
A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms...
several hundred feet further down the tracks.
The old building began to decline, as the city itself did with the absence of the railroad, until it was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1980. Since then it has been renovated and today houses several small shops on the street side.
External links
- Erie Railway, Port Jervis Station, Jersey Avenue, Port Jervis, Orange, NY: 9 photos, 1 data page, and 1 photo caption page at Historic American Building Survey