(erielack) CNJ Station in Scranton

[Frank P Adams <frank.p.adams_@_verizonbusiness.com>]

Not exactly EL content, but it's across the street from DL&W bridge 60 and
Steamtown :)   Anyway note the part about finding trainman lockers from
"long dead" railroaders.

Frank

 

- -----Original Message-----


Once a hub of railroad traffic for the region, a historic train station
could soon become a hub of redevelopment on downtown Scranton's west side.

A $2 million state grant, announced Thursday, will help fund the first phase
of a $4.45 million project to renovate the Central New Jersey station for
use as a restaurant and retail complex.

Built in 1891, the turreted, Queen Anne-style station at 602 W. Lackawanna
Ave. was designed primarily to facilitate shipping of coal from the area. It
remained in use as freight station until the mid-1950s. It became a produce
warehouse after that and was owned by the Cognetti family. Last used in the
1980s, the building has been virtually empty for the past 20 years.

Touring its cavernous halls Thursday, Mr. Donahue pointed out what and where
various features might be, notably a "midrange" steakhouse with outdoor
seating, a coffee shop, retail operations and possibly office space. When
completed, the depot will contain 26,804 square feet of rentable commercial
space on four levels.

... 

Coupled with planned reconstruction of the adjacent Lackawanna Avenue bridge
and development of an intermodal transportation center across the street,
the rail station's renaissance would help put the crowning touches on what
Mayor Chris Doherty sees as a chain of redevelopment projects across central
city in recent years.

Work on the CNJ depot is expected to get fully under way next spring and
will take about a year to complete.

...

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, the station has
all the feel of a museum piece - albeit a forlorn one.

Stenciled tenant names still can be read on the doors of upstairs offices,
and a trainmen's mess room still contains period lockers, some adorned with
decades-old pinups and other mementos of long-dead railroaders.

One of those lockers bears the name of Joe Donahue, with a hand-scrawled
note: "Spend a nickel, Joe."

"When I saw that, I thought maybe it's my ancestors, giving me advice," Mr.
Donahue quipped.

His group has spent about $1 million so far, and will finance the $2.45
million balance of phase one through private investment.

Even with the paint peeling and so much work to be done, he pointed to one
feature that doesn't need much help. The building's brick structure was
designed to withstand decades of pounding by steam locomotives that used the
depot.

He said the renovations will bring in new uses while trying to preserve
historic character and features.

Take, for example, the 26 different types of windows in the station. They'll
be replaced with modern reproductions designed for energy efficiency, while
echoing the originals as closely as possible.

He said renovations will be done following guidelines set by the state
Historical and Museum Commission.



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