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The Old Colony Railroad Station, also known as the North Easton Railroad Station, is a railroad station designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent United States architect of the 19th century whose work left a significant impact on Boston, Pittsburgh, Albany, New York and Chicago, among others....
. It is located just off Oliver Street, North Easton, Massachusetts, and currently houses the Easton Historical Society.

The station was commissioned in 1881 by Frederick Lothrop Ames
Frederick Lothrop Ames

Frederick Lothrop Ames was the great-grandson of Oliver Ames , who established the Ames Shovel Company. The Ames were a wealthy family in Massachusetts and were fairly prominent in 19th century New England society....
, director of the Old Colony Railroad
Old Colony Railroad

The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts, USA. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Provincetown, Massachusetts, the tip of Cape Cod, and Providence, Rhode Island via its Boston and Providence Railroad....
, during the same year that Richardson designed the Ames Gate Lodge
Ames Gate Lodge

The Ames Gate Lodge is a celebrated work by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. It is privately owned on an estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, but its north facade can be seen from the road at 135 Elm Street, North Easton, Massachusetts....
 for his nearby estate.






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The Old Colony Railroad Station, also known as the North Easton Railroad Station, is a railroad station designed by noted American architect H. H. Richardson
Henry Hobson Richardson

Henry Hobson Richardson was a prominent United States architect of the 19th century whose work left a significant impact on Boston, Pittsburgh, Albany, New York and Chicago, among others....
. It is located just off Oliver Street, North Easton, Massachusetts, and currently houses the Easton Historical Society.

The station was commissioned in 1881 by Frederick Lothrop Ames
Frederick Lothrop Ames

Frederick Lothrop Ames was the great-grandson of Oliver Ames , who established the Ames Shovel Company. The Ames were a wealthy family in Massachusetts and were fairly prominent in 19th century New England society....
, director of the Old Colony Railroad
Old Colony Railroad

The Old Colony Railroad was a major railroad system, mainly covering southeastern Massachusetts, USA. Old Colony trains ran from Boston to points such as Provincetown, Massachusetts, the tip of Cape Cod, and Providence, Rhode Island via its Boston and Providence Railroad....
, during the same year that Richardson designed the Ames Gate Lodge
Ames Gate Lodge

The Ames Gate Lodge is a celebrated work by American architect Henry Hobson Richardson. It is privately owned on an estate landscaped by Frederick Law Olmsted, but its north facade can be seen from the road at 135 Elm Street, North Easton, Massachusetts....
 for his nearby estate. Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted

Frederick Law Olmsted was an United States journalist, landscape designer and father of American landscape architecture, famous for designing many well-known urban parks, including Central Park and Prospect Park in New York, New York....
 landscaped its grounds. In 1969, the Ames family purchased the property from 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....
 and gave it to the historical society.

It is a relatively small station, a single story in height with Richardson's characteristic heavy masonry and outsized roof. Its long axis runs north-south with the tracks, now disused, along its west side. The building is laid out symmetrically within, with a large passenger room at each end (one for women, the other for men).

The station's facade is constructed of rough-faced, random ashlar
Ashlar

Ashlar is dressed stone work of any type of stone. Ashlar blocks are large rectangular blocks of masonry sculpted to have square edges and even faces....
 of gray granite with a red granite belt course
Belt course

A belt course is a continuous row or layer of Masonry, tile, brick, shingles, etc. in a wall. The Romanesque architecture style of architecture is notable for the use of belt courses....
 and trim. Two large, semicircular arches punctuate each of the long facades, inset with windows and doorways, and ornamented with carvings of a beast's snarling head; a further semicircular arch projects to form the east facade's porte-cochere
Porte-cochere

A porte-cochere is the Architecture term for a porch or portico-like structure at a main or secondary entrance to a building, through which it is possible for a horse and carriage or motor vehicle to pass, in order for the occupants to alight under cover, protected from the weather....
. Eaves project deeply over all sides, supported by plain 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....
.