(rshsdepot) Rutherford, NJ

[I95BERNIEW_@_aol.com]

From The Record.
 
Bernie Wagenblast
 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
 
 
Rutherford Officials Rejoicing ; Landmark to Be  Restored
 
10/23/07
 
By NICK CLUNN, STAFF WRITER
 
RUTHERFORD - The broken benches and cracked floor tiles that  greet rail 
commuters at Rutherford Station will be restored as part of a $3.2  million plan 
to fix the neglected building, officials announced Monday.  
The renovation is expected to make waiting more comfortable for the 950 or so 
 daily riders who board trains there. It also will preserve a 109-year-old  
landmark that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and 
regarded  locally as an important aspect of the borough's past.  
"This is the touchstone of the community, the most easily recognizable  
building in Rutherford," Mayor Bernadette McPherson said before a morning press  
conference announcing the project.  
The state will spend $1.3 million to restore the station's red brick  
exterior, and a $2 million federal appropriation will cover costs associated  with 
fixing the indoor waiting area. The borough will spend nothing.  
Construction will begin with the exterior in the spring of 2008, and will end 
 about two years later, according to a schedule for the project, which is 
being  managed by NJ Transit.  
East Rutherford resident John Allen, who often catches the train into  
Hoboken, said the station could use a makeover, though creating a lane for cars  
picking up and dropping off passengers might be a better investment.  
"They should add more functionality to it," he said.  
McPherson credited Rep. Steve Rothman, D-Fair Lawn, for securing the $2  
million, which had been appropriated to a fund earmarked for NJ Transit  
transportation projects in North Jersey.  
Rothman said he decided to dedicate the money to the station after hearing  
appeals from McPherson and officials at NJ Transit. Once a mayor himself,  
Rothman said he has a great deal of respect for McPherson's tenacity in pursuing  
federal dollars to help her town.  
"She's certainly at the top of the list of local officials who come to me,"  
he said.  
The station is on the Bergen County Line about 35 minutes from New York Penn  
Station and one stop from the Secaucus Junction.  
When the Erie Railroad built the station in 1898, it was two stops from  
Hoboken, where riders could transfer into Manhattan, Billy Neumann, chairman of  
the Rutherford Historic Preservation Commission, said.  
At that time, the station was regarded as a significant improvement over the  
simple box-like buildings that typically provided rail travelers with cover,  
Neumann said. One of his favorite details at the Rutherford Station is the  
gazebo, which was built at the southern end to provide waiting passengers with 
a  view of Manhattan.  
The gazebo still stands in disrepair but NJ Transit has plans to fix the  
cracks that wind through its stone floor. Heavily damaged sections will be  
replaced.  
Elsewhere around the station, workers will seal windows, replace doors and  
paint the interior from floor to ceiling. New floor tiles and a restoration of  
the wooden benches are also in the plans.  
***  
E-mail: clunn_@_northjersey.com 





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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1621
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
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