New York City was home to plenty of railroad lines and stations during the golden age of train travel and, while many of those structures were incorporated into the New York City Subway or the Long Island and Metro-North Railroads, dozens were left abandoned across the five boroughs. One that has survived largely intact to the present day is the station house located at Westchester Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard.
The station was originally built in 1908 for the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, though it also served the more local New York, Westchester and Boston Railway. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, the architect who would design the Woolworth Building a few years later. He chose glazed terra cotta for the exterior, and the building consists of an entry hall on the street and a waiting room that extends over the tracks.
The station was well-used until 1920, when it was superseded by the construction of the nearby Whitlock Avenue subway station overhead. Since the subway was so cheap, ridership on the railroads declined and service was eventually shut down in 1937. However, while the station remains closed, the line below it later would become part of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor, ferrying riders to points north of the city.
The station stands at the entrance of Concrete Plant Park and, as part of the larger Bronx Greenway plan, there is talk of restoring the building for public use.
Know Before You Go
Take the '6' train to Whitlock Avenue and make a left at Westchester Avenue. The abandoned station can also be seen from the train as it makes its turn across the Bronx River.
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