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All the United States New York State New York City the Bronx Westchester Avenue Station
AO Edited

Westchester Avenue Station

Designed by famed 20th-century architect Cass Gilbert, the future of this abandoned 1908 rail station is currently in limbo.

Bronx, New York

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Anna Minster
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View from Westchester Avenue.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
Polychrome terra cotta on the front facade.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
Terra cotta bleached by graffiti removal, with new graffiti.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
As seen from a northbound 6 subway train.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
As visible from the Whitlock Av subway station.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
Inside, as Bronxlandia   unitof / Atlas Obscura User
  Hardwork247 / Atlas Obscura User
Entry hall with railroad and station names in raised letters.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
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Waiting room as visible from the east.   Anna Minster / Atlas Obscura User
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About

The Westchester Avenue station was constructed in 1908 to expand commuter rail service into the Bronx, Westchester County, and Connecticut by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad (NY, NH & H). Architect Cass Gilbert, who had recently completed the lauded U.S. Custom House in Lower Manhattan, was tasked with designing 12 stations, though not all of the proposed stations were built.

The Westchester Avenue station consisted of three sections: a tall, central entry hall, a shorter waiting room suspended over the tracks to the east, and a small west porch. The entrance is ornamented with glazed, polychrome terra cotta. In his later 1910 design of the Woolworth Building, Gilbert again utilized terra cotta detailing.

Several factors hampered the success of commuter service on this line: the amount of debt incurred during the expansion, a terminus in the Bronx not Manhattan, and later competition with less expensive subway service. The NY, NH, and H discontinued service to local stations in 1931 although a subsidiary, the New York, Westchester, and Boston rail lines, continued to make scheduled stops. Both railroads eventually declared bankruptcy and on December 31, 1937, the last train stopped at Westchester Avenue.

Amtrak now owns the property, which operates a portion of the Northeast Corridor in the right-of-way. Amtrak lists the asset as a "structure in need of demolition." The trackside platforms and stairs have been removed. The west porch was demolished, and replaced by an exit from the Sheridan Expressway. Graffiti removal has bleached the colors from the terra cotta on the lower part of the entry hall, which is not to say that the building is free of graffiti. Ivy often covers much of the structure.

The Westchester Avenue station is neither listed on the National Register of Historic Places nor is it a New York City landmark, though local community activists hope to restore and repurpose the building.

Related Tags

Architecture Abandoned History & Culture Transportation Subways Railroads

Know Before You Go

The Whitlock Avenue station on the 6 subway line is 350 feet from the former commuter rail station. Exit from the north end of the platform. Use caution when crossing the exit from the Sheridan Expressway. Concrete Plant Park, also on Atlas Obscura, is immediately to the east of the Amtrak right-of-way.

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Anna Minster

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unitof, Hardwork247

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  • Hardwork247

Published

March 22, 2023

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  • https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/realestate/cass-gilbert-train-stations-bronx.html
  • https://bronxriver.org/place/the-westchester-avenue-railroad-station
Westchester Avenue Station
1330 Westchester Ave
Bronx, New York, 10459
United States
40.827797, -73.885475
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Nearby Places

Concrete Plant Park

Bronx, New York

miles away

Banana Ripening Facility

Bronx, New York

miles away

Parkchester Terracotta Sculptures

Bronx, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bronx

Bronx

New York

Places 31
Stories 3

Nearby Places

Concrete Plant Park

Bronx, New York

miles away

Banana Ripening Facility

Bronx, New York

miles away

Parkchester Terracotta Sculptures

Bronx, New York

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Bronx

Bronx

New York

Places 31
Stories 3

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