Hawthorne Station, 5-2011 update
May 15 2011
Hawthorne Station, May 2011, Newsletters Comments Off
For 117 years, Hawthorne station has stood at the corner of Royal and Diamond Bridge Avenues. Although it now stands seventy-five feet north (railroad west) of where it spent 116 of those years, it is now safe from turning trucks and certain destruction.
Southern end garden in the old station location.
Over the last eleven months we have not only moved the building, we have also added a new basement, put in a new floor, put on a new platform, added landscaping, new paint, fencing, retaining wall and repaired or replaced the damaged or rotting wood seven feet up the side of the structure. And while we will still have some finishing touches to complete, the station will once again be able to welcome visitors.
Now safe from the threat of countless trucks, the north-east corner of the station’s roof undergoes repair for, hopefully, the last time.
Thus, on May 22nd at one PM we will celebrate the station’s next chapter when we hold a grand re-opening. The public will be invited in to see what we have done over the last eleven months and meet the people who made it all possible, so please plan on coming out to be part of the day. We will be arriving at the station in a very appropriate way for the VRA, on the rails, for this is the second day of our NYS&W Southern Division motorcar trip. In addition to the motorcars, the day will feature a ribbon cutting, an open house, railroad displays, pictures and videos along with a few words from some very key people who made the preservation and restoration possible.
Many will be pleasantly surprised to see that we have chosen the colors that the station wore for over thirty years of its life, when the NYS&W was controlled by the Erie RR. The two-tone green color is not only very attractive it is also very fitting for the station to wear. This is because Hawthorne has been a two railroad town for all of its history, and even before when it was part of Paterson. Choosing a color that represents the two roads seemed only right.
Restoration crew on a well deserved rest break.
Please invite your friends and relatives to come down and take part in this historic day and to show off the work a small but dedicated group of people can do when they put their minds to it.