New Rochelle Railroad station

The New Rochelle Railroad Station was constructed in 1887 by George O. Hawes. It is architecturally significant as a prime example of late 19th-century railroad architecture in Westchester County. The architecture of the New Rochelle railroad station is similar to that of railroad stations from its era. It is built with load-bearing brick walls and stands at one-half stories tall featuring an asphalt shingle gabled roof. On the southeast side of the station sits a one-story building that was added in 1980, it is used as a waiting room, taxi stand, and ticket desk. 

The New Rochelle Railroad station was an important addition to the town at the end of the nineteenth century. Prior to the building of this railroad line, the residents of New Rochelle traveled via ferry and trolley to New York City, Long Island, and Connecticut. The railroad line provided a faster mode of long-distance transportation and developed the town of New Rochelle and allowed it to become a “commuter suburb.” 

The origins of this railroad line dates back to 1848 when the New York and New Haven Railroad constructed a one-line track that ran through New Rochelle. Service for the line began on December 28, 1848, and at the time New Rochelle was the final railroad station before entering New York City. And in 1853 a second track was added due to a fatal head-on collision. In 1884 the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad drew up plans for the New Rochelle railroad station that exists today. The establishment of the New Rochelle railroad station paved the way for its neighboring towns Pelham (1893), Mamaroneck (1888), Harrison(1886), Rye, and Port Chester (1890) to have their own railroad station. 

After a generation of use, the station was renovated in the early 1930s. The renovation installed new technologies to accommodate passengers such as the replacing of coal-burning stoves with steam heaters. In the 1950s there were petitions for more updates to be made but it never materialized due to the economic and financial difficulties of the Great Depression and WWII. In 1969 the New Haven line went bankrupt and sold the New Rochelle station to a private developer who used the interior for office space for commercial use. The station deteriorated under this ownership and in 1982 the city of New Rochelle bought the station. While the city was working with Amtrak to renovate the facilities in 1988 the station caught fire and much of the building was destroyed. This sped up the renovation and a half-a-million-dollar restoration took place under local architect Melvin Beacher. 

The station finally reopened in 1991 to the public. Today, the New Rochelle railroad station serves the New Haven line and Metro-North and Amtrak railroad corporations. It is used by both New York City and New Rochelle residents. 

1. "New Rochelle, NY (NRO)." Great American Stations – Revitalizing America's Train Stations. Accessed December 11, 2020. https://www.greatamericanstations.com/stations/new-rochelle-ny-nro/.

2. New Rochelle Railroad station, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed December 11th, 2020.

3. Davis, Barbara. New Rochelle. Images of America. Charleston, South Carolina. Arcadia Publishing, 2012.