Croton North Railroad Station
Encyclopedia
The former Croton North railroad station is located on Senasqua Road in Croton-on-Hudson
, New York, United States. It was built by the New York Central Railroad
in the late 19th century. In 1987 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
.
It had long been out of active service, and was converted to office use three years before the listing. Despite the conversion it remains largely intact, and is considered an excellent example of a commuter railroad station from this era, when stations began to reflect the industrial role of the railroads. Included in the listing are two 1930s Pullman
electric passenger coaches parked on a disconnected spur north of the station.
commuter railroad and also used by Amtrak
and CSX Transportation
for intercity passenger rail and freight respectively. Two disused sidings lead to the station building from the main Hudson Line
tracks, the south end of a working rail yard
used primarily by CSX, approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Metro-North's Croton–Harmon station and its Harmon Yard maintenance facility.
Automotive access is from Senasqua Road, a short service road along the west side of the U.S. Route 9 Croton Expressway. It rejoins US 9 southbound at its southern end and provides access to the rest of Croton-on-Hudson via an overpass to New York State Route 9A
at the interchange
at its northern end. The station is the only building along Senasqua Road. There is a small unpaved lot, the end of a short driveway to the rail yard, to the east and south of the station. A row of mature trees along the road. Across the tracks, to the southwest, is Elliott Way and the parking area for Croton Landing Park on the Hudson River
.
The station building itself is a one-story rectangular building topped by an asphalt-shingled hipped roof
. Brownish brick faces its load-bearing clay tile walls. At the top ithe roof is pierced by a brick chimney; three skylights are on the west slope. Its wide overhanging eaves are supported by large wooden brackets
. A canopy extends out over the former platform, now filled with gravel and serving as a patio
, a short distance on the south, and farther along the north.
At the north end the wall curves into a five-facet section with full windows. A hip-roofed porte-cochère
, now enclosed with concrete blocks painted with stucco
, extends from the center of the east section. Fenestration is irregular; doors and windows have terra cotta
surrounds.
The main entrance is located at the southweast junction of the porte-cochère and the rest of the building. Inside the rooms have been renovated for their current use as office space. Much of their original layout and some finishes remain. The porte-cochère has been divided into two rooms, one faced in glass block. The former waiting room retains its high ceilings.
On a disconnected stretch of track just north of the station are two Pullman-Electric
passenger cars. Inside they have their original furnishings, with upholstered seats, overhead luggage racks and cab compartments. They were built in the 1930s and have the livery of the Erie Railroad, which operated them on tracks in New Jersey. They were never used on the line in New York that served the station. Since they are in an appropriate historical setting, they are considered contributing objects
to the National Register listing.
wooden board-and-batten
structures, in keeping with a popular regional style. None of these are extant. As the railroad became part of the New York Central
and linked to the expanding national railway network, traffic increased and the original stations were no longer adequate.
Starting around 1860, the Central built new stations reflecting the railroads' wider economic role. These showed the influence of industrialization, and were often rectangular structures of brick. Four of them remain today.Two (Peekskill
and Cold Spring
) survive on the Metro-North portion of the line (the former is partially a restaurant today; the latter is exclusively one and is not part of the modern station complex a short distance to its south). North of the current end of commuter service at Poughkeepsie
, the Hudson
station is still used by Amtrak
while the Stuyvesant
station is no longer used for any rail-related purpose.
A third wave of stations came along later in the century and continued into the early decades of the next. These buildings reflected the emergence of the automobile and the consequent growth of the highway network. In response to these needs, railroads began developing more architecturally sophisticated stations, primarily by contracting with architectural firms such as Warren and Wetmore
, who designed Grand Central Terminal
for the Central. These stations show a great deal of variation, and no two are exactly alike. Their commons design features such as the overhanging roof and linear form are still recognized as typical of rail stations today
While Warren and Wetmore designed other Central stations outside of New York City such as Mount Vernon
and Hyde Park
, the small Croton North station was a product of the railroad's own engineering department. It has many of the standard features of the era's stations, such as the hip roof
with broad eaves to shelter waiting passengers and linear form, but reflects some other contemporary architectural trends as well.
The faceted north end, breaking up the otherwise absolute rectilinearity of the building, is a mark of the Queen Anne Style
then popular with homebuilders. The connection is further evidenced by the asymmetrical roof and irregular fenestration. Lastly the choice of materials, with quoin
ed terra cotta
surrounds in the brick and large but carefully crafted wooden brackets
supporting the roof, is another sign of the Queen Anne style.
These features also serve to enhance the building's functionality. The location within of specific interior functions such as the waiting room and ticket office is evident from the outside. The porte-cochère
and canopy completely shelter the traveler in his or her transition from street vehicle to train.
Initially the station complex included an iron bridge that crossed not only the tracks, but also what is now the expressway. This bridge deteriorated to the point that it was removed at some point after the station was listed on the Register. The Central stopped service to the station in the 1960s. It was vacant and neglected until its conversion
for office use in 1984, a project that did not significantly alter the station beyond enclosing the porte-cochère. Two years later, in 1986, a small section of new track was laid north of the station to accommodate the Pullman cars. There have been no alterations since. Today it is the offices of an electrical contractor and architect.
Croton-on-Hudson, New York
Croton-on-Hudson is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 8,070 at the 2010 census. It is located in the town of Cortlandt, in New York City's northern suburbs...
, New York, United States. It was built by the New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
in the late 19th century. In 1987 it was listed on 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...
.
It had long been out of active service, and was converted to office use three years before the listing. Despite the conversion it remains largely intact, and is considered an excellent example of a commuter railroad station from this era, when stations began to reflect the industrial role of the railroads. Included in the listing are two 1930s Pullman
Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
electric passenger coaches parked on a disconnected spur north of the station.
Building and grounds
The property included in the listing is a narrow 2 acres (8,093.7 m²) parcel along railroad tracks currently owned by the Metro-NorthMetro-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...
commuter railroad and also used by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
for intercity passenger rail and freight respectively. Two disused sidings lead to the station building from the main Hudson Line
Hudson Line (Metro-North)
Metro-North Railroad's Hudson Line is a commuter rail line running north from New York City along the east shore of the Hudson River. Metro-North service ends at Poughkeepsie, with Amtrak's Empire Corridor trains continuing north to and beyond Albany...
tracks, the south end of a working rail yard
Rail yard
A rail yard, or railroad yard, is a complex series of railroad tracks for storing, sorting, or loading/unloading, railroad cars and/or locomotives. Railroad yards have many tracks in parallel for keeping rolling stock stored off the mainline, so that they do not obstruct the flow of traffic....
used primarily by CSX, approximately one mile (1.6 km) northwest of Metro-North's Croton–Harmon station and its Harmon Yard maintenance facility.
Automotive access is from Senasqua Road, a short service road along the west side of the U.S. Route 9 Croton Expressway. It rejoins US 9 southbound at its southern end and provides access to the rest of Croton-on-Hudson via an overpass to New York State Route 9A
New York State Route 9A
New York State Route 9A is a state highway in the vicinity of New York City, New York, United States. Its southern terminus is at the northern end of the Brooklyn–Battery Tunnel in New York City, where it intersects with both Interstate 478 and FDR Drive. The northern terminus of...
at the interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
at its northern end. The station is the only building along Senasqua Road. There is a small unpaved lot, the end of a short driveway to the rail yard, to the east and south of the station. A row of mature trees along the road. Across the tracks, to the southwest, is Elliott Way and the parking area for Croton Landing Park on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
.
The station building itself is a one-story rectangular building topped by an asphalt-shingled hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
. Brownish brick faces its load-bearing clay tile walls. At the top ithe roof is pierced by a brick chimney; three skylights are on the west slope. Its wide overhanging eaves are supported by large wooden brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
. A canopy extends out over the former platform, now filled with gravel and serving as a patio
Patio
A patio is an outdoor space generally used for dining or recreation that adjoins a residence and is typically paved. It may refer to a roofless inner courtyard of the sort found in Spanish-style dwellings or a paved area between a residence and a garden....
, a short distance on the south, and farther along the north.
At the north end the wall curves into a five-facet section with full windows. A hip-roofed porte-cochère
Porte-cochere
A porte-cochère is the architectural term for a porch- or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a horse and carriage can pass in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.The porte-cochère was a feature of many late 18th...
, now enclosed with concrete blocks painted with stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
, extends from the center of the east section. Fenestration is irregular; doors and windows have terra cotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
surrounds.
The main entrance is located at the southweast junction of the porte-cochère and the rest of the building. Inside the rooms have been renovated for their current use as office space. Much of their original layout and some finishes remain. The porte-cochère has been divided into two rooms, one faced in glass block. The former waiting room retains its high ceilings.
On a disconnected stretch of track just north of the station are two Pullman-Electric
Pullman (car or coach)
In the United States, Pullman was used to refer to railroad sleeping cars which were built and operated on most U.S. railroads by the Pullman Company from 1867 to December 31, 1968....
passenger cars. Inside they have their original furnishings, with upholstered seats, overhead luggage racks and cab compartments. They were built in the 1930s and have the livery of the Erie Railroad, which operated them on tracks in New Jersey. They were never used on the line in New York that served the station. Since they are in an appropriate historical setting, they are considered contributing objects
Contributing property
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing resource or contributing property is any building, structure, or object which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic district, listed locally or federally, significant...
to the National Register listing.
History
The original stations built by the Hudson River Railroad in the mid-19th century were cottage-like PicturesquePicturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
wooden board-and-batten
Batten
A batten is a thin strip of solid material, typically made from wood, plastic or metal. Battens are used in building construction and various other fields as both structural and purely cosmetic elements...
structures, in keeping with a popular regional style. None of these are extant. As the railroad became part of the New York Central
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
and linked to the expanding national railway network, traffic increased and the original stations were no longer adequate.
Starting around 1860, the Central built new stations reflecting the railroads' wider economic role. These showed the influence of industrialization, and were often rectangular structures of brick. Four of them remain today.Two (Peekskill
Peekskill (Metro-North station)
The Peekskill Metro-North Railroad station serves residents of Peekskill, New York via the Hudson Line. Trains leave for New York City every hour on weekdays and about every 25 minutes during rush hour. It is from Grand Central Terminal and travel time to Grand Central is approximately one hour...
and Cold Spring
Cold Spring (Metro-North station)
Cold Spring is a Metro-North Railroad station that serves the residents of Cold Spring, New York via the Hudson Line. Trains leave for New York City every hour on weekdays, and about every 25 minutes during rush hour...
) survive on the Metro-North portion of the line (the former is partially a restaurant today; the latter is exclusively one and is not part of the modern station complex a short distance to its south). North of the current end of commuter service at Poughkeepsie
Poughkeepsie (Metro-North station)
The Poughkeepsie Metro-North Railroad station serves Poughkeepsie, New York and surrounding areas as the north end of the Hudson Line. It is also served by many Amtrak trains, which continue north to Albany and points beyond, and south to New York City's Pennsylvania Station. Trains leave for New...
, the Hudson
Hudson (Amtrak station)
The Hudson Amtrak Station is a train station in Hudson, New York. Originally built in 1874 by the New York Central Railroad, it is the oldest continuously operated station in the state. Hudson station serves a total of four different Amtrak trains, all of which have a southern terminus at...
station is still used by Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
while the Stuyvesant
Stuyvesant Railroad Station
The Stuyvesant Railroad Station, also known as Stuyvesant Landing Depot, is an historic train station located in Stuyvesant, Columbia County, New York. It was built during the second half of 1880 after the original station was destroyed by a fire. Mull & Fromer, masons and builders, of Catskill,...
station is no longer used for any rail-related purpose.
A third wave of stations came along later in the century and continued into the early decades of the next. These buildings reflected the emergence of the automobile and the consequent growth of the highway network. In response to these needs, railroads began developing more architecturally sophisticated stations, primarily by contracting with architectural firms such as Warren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore
Warren and Wetmore was an architecture firm in New York City. It was a partnership between Whitney Warren and Charles Wetmore , that had one of the most extensive practices of its time and was known for the designing of large hotels.Whitney Warren was a cousin of the Vanderbilts and spent ten...
, who designed Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
for the Central. These stations show a great deal of variation, and no two are exactly alike. Their commons design features such as the overhanging roof and linear form are still recognized as typical of rail stations today
While Warren and Wetmore designed other Central stations outside of New York City such as Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon West (Metro-North station)
The Mount Vernon West Metro-North Railroad station is the first station in Westchester County, New York on the Harlem Line. It is 13.1 miles from Grand Central Terminal...
and Hyde Park
Hyde Park Railroad Station
The Hyde Park Railroad Station is the former New York Central Railroad station located where Crum Elbow Creek flows into the Hudson River in Hyde Park, New York, USA. A one-story wooden station was first established by the Central at the spot in 1851 by the Hudson River Railroad, connecting New...
, the small Croton North station was a product of the railroad's own engineering department. It has many of the standard features of the era's stations, such as the hip roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
with broad eaves to shelter waiting passengers and linear form, but reflects some other contemporary architectural trends as well.
The faceted north end, breaking up the otherwise absolute rectilinearity of the building, is a mark of the Queen Anne Style
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...
then popular with homebuilders. The connection is further evidenced by the asymmetrical roof and irregular fenestration. Lastly the choice of materials, with quoin
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
ed terra cotta
Architectural terracotta
Terracotta, in its unglazed form, became fashionable as an architectural ceramic construction material in England in the 1860s, and in the United States in the 1870s. It was generally used to supplement brick and tiles of similar colour in late Victorian buildings.It had been used before this in...
surrounds in the brick and large but carefully crafted wooden brackets
Bracket (architecture)
A bracket is an architectural member made of wood, stone, or metal that overhangs a wall to support or carry weight. It may also support a statue, the spring of an arch, a beam, or a shelf. Brackets are often in the form of scrolls, and can be carved, cast, or molded. They can be entirely...
supporting the roof, is another sign of the Queen Anne style.
These features also serve to enhance the building's functionality. The location within of specific interior functions such as the waiting room and ticket office is evident from the outside. The porte-cochère
Porte-cochere
A porte-cochère is the architectural term for a porch- or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building through which a horse and carriage can pass in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather.The porte-cochère was a feature of many late 18th...
and canopy completely shelter the traveler in his or her transition from street vehicle to train.
Initially the station complex included an iron bridge that crossed not only the tracks, but also what is now the expressway. This bridge deteriorated to the point that it was removed at some point after the station was listed on the Register. The Central stopped service to the station in the 1960s. It was vacant and neglected until its conversion
Adaptive reuse
Adaptive reuse refers to the process of reusing an old site or building for a purpose other than which it was built or designed for. Along with brownfield reclamation, adaptive reuse is seen by many as a key factor in land conservation and the reduction of urban sprawl...
for office use in 1984, a project that did not significantly alter the station beyond enclosing the porte-cochère. Two years later, in 1986, a small section of new track was laid north of the station to accommodate the Pullman cars. There have been no alterations since. Today it is the offices of an electrical contractor and architect.
