New York Central Railroad Passenger and Freight Station

New York Central Railroad Passenger Station is a former railroad station in Syracuse, New York. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 11, 2009.[3] The former station currently is the home to Spectrum's Central New York operations.

Syracuse
The former headhouse of the Syracuse station
Location	800 Erie Boulevard East and 400 Burnet Avenue, Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York
Owned by	Charter Communications
History
Opened	September 24, 1936[1]
Closed	August 29, 1962[1]
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Belle Isle toward Chicago Main Line East Syracuse toward New York Woodard toward Oswego Phoenix Line Terminus Solvay toward Rochester Auburn Road Terminus Syracuse – Massena Liverpool toward Massena
New York Central Railroad Passenger and Freight Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	815 Erie Boulevard East and 400 Burnet Avenue, Syracuse, New York
Coordinates	43°3′3.7908″N 76°8′23.5896″W
Area	3.7 acres (1.5 ha)[2]
Built	1936
Architectural style	Art Deco
NRHP reference No.	09000701[3]
Added to NRHP	September 11, 2009[3]

History

The station on a 1951 postcard

The passenger station, the third of ultimately four stations built by the New York Central Railroad to serve Syracuse was built in 1936 when the railroad tracks that previously went through the city of Syracuse via Washington Street at grade with pedestrians and automobiles were elevated above city streets, is of Art Deco design. Both the station and the new elevated route opened for business on September 24, 1936.

In 1962, after the purchase of the rail right of way near the station by New York State for the construction of Interstate 690 facilitating a new route for passenger trains through Syracuse, New York Central moved to a smaller "temporary" station near the freight yards in East Syracuse. The construction of the highway immediately behind the former station led to the demolition of all its train platforms with the exception of the one connected to the building and the one farthest from the building. The interior of the terminal was used as a Midtown Motors car dealership in the late 1950s to early 1960s. Greyhound continued to use it a bus terminal from 1964 until a fire in 1996.[2] Meanwhile, train service remained at the "temporary" East Syracuse facility well into the Amtrak era. Bus and train service were reintegrated in 1998 at the William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center in north Syracuse.

The passenger building was renovated from 2001 to 2003 by Time Warner Cable (now part of Charter Spectrum), both to serve as their main office for their central New York operations, and as the Syracuse bureau and studios for News 10 Now (now Spectrum News Central New York). It serves both roles today.[2][4] In 2016, New York State announced plans to restore the remaining station platform located across the highway from the station.[5]

See also

• List of RHPs in Syracuse
• Railroads in Syracuse, New York

References

1. Diddle, Fritz (2004). "Communication Station". Empire Business. p. 9. Retrieved October 16, 2018.
2. Anthony Opalka and Katelin Olsen (July 2009). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York Central Railroad Passenger and Freight Station". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2010-05-16. and Accompanying 19 photos, exterior and interior, from 2008 (see captions on page 31 of text document)
3. "Announcements and actions on properties for the National Register of Historic Places for April 30, 2010". Weekly Listings. National Park Service. April 30, 2010. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
4. TWC Central New York / Syracuse (Contact Us)
5. "New York to spend $1.5 million to restore unused Syracuse train platform". 26 January 2016.

External links

Media related to Syracuse station (New York Central) at Wikimedia Commons