For about a decade various organizers have attempted to raise money to restore Lockport's Union Station---the rail passenger terminal that served Lockport prior to closing in 1957. The Union Station Development Corporation (USDC) has sought to use mostly government grants and loans to convert the gutted shell of the terminal building into a multi-purpose building for various business operations with a railroad theme. Over the course of years thousands of dollars in donations from the community were raised to restore what little remains after a 1978 fire burned out this beloved part of Lockport history. After closing as a rail station, the structure had been used as a restaurant. The eatery burned first in 1972 before the final blaze, six years later, finished it. Because so little remained, efforts at restoration appeared futile from the beginning but reality didn't dampen efforts by some to raise thousands of dollars for the cause. The group had received a $568,320 federal grant in 1994 to reconstruct the train station but that money wasn't nearly enough to do the job. In recent years an additional application for another $1-million had been turned down and organizers were unwilling or unable to put significant amounts of their own money into a rebuild project. The "old train station," built in 1888, will not be coming back to life.
Shown above is the pen and ink drawing by Lockport artist Tina Tompkins Ames of Union Station in its heyday. Up through the end of the 1940's there was a fair amount of activity here at a time when Lockport not only had busy rail freight service but daily passenger service. New York Central trains came in here and connected with the nation's major rail centers. Families would gather at the terminal to greet or bid farewell to loved ones coming and going out of "Lockport World Center." Western Union was located here during decades when the "telegram" was the quickest, most impressive, and quite expensive means of written communication. Western Union wires were strung on poles along railroad right-of-ways and some still remain up to this day, although most are inactive. We would be pleased to publish recollections of Lockportians about Union Station here. For those who wish to share, e-mail your impressions and stories to: Editor@Lockport-NY.com
The announcement of the termination of Union Station restoration plans was made at the Wednesday night, 12/15/99, meeting of the Lockport Common Council by out-going Mayor, Ken Swan. Money already granted to the group by the federal government and held in trust by the city will be returned to the federal coffers. There was no word if the thousands of dollars solicited from local residents would ever be returned. USDC indicated on Wednesday, 12/15, that it would continue to hold title to the building shell and property. If the corporation maintains that stance, it would effectively delay clean-up of the area, any other redevelopment, and, would keep the property off the tax rolls.
Union
Station At The Close Of The Millennium:
Nothing but a shell remains today, and not a complete shell by any means. The site near the foot of Washburn Street at Union has been a mess for many years.
Many hope that now with the federal grants gone USDC will completely exit the project and allow for site demolition and clean-up. Perhaps the thousands of dollars collected as donations, if not given back to the public, could be used to pay demolition costs.
Lockportians, we're sure, would rather remember this part of our history with the pen and ink drawing by Tina Tompkins Ames than this real-life eyesore of rock, trash, and debris. (12/16)
Union
Station 1971
The air view of Union Station is an official United States Government photo taken in 1971 to document this historical site.This was before the first fire.
The top of the photo is North.
Notice also, to the upper left at the end of Washburn Street, north of Union, that the Dussault Foundry was still going in operation with the cars of several employees parked just south of the foundry buildings.
The escarpment drop-off is immediately north of the Dussault buildings and Market Street in Lowertown can be seen at the extreme top left of the frame.
I have a serious question that I have been unable to get an answer to. I was among those who donated to restore the old Union Station. What has happened to my money, and the funds of hundreds of others since this project has been canceled. Can anyone give me the name of the owner of record for the property and the person last known to be holding all the donated money?
Jane Tuttle
3-26-02
For Expert Niagara County Real Estate Help
McKnight-Hogan
& Noonan Realtors
Full-Time Staff---50 Years Experience
Tel: 716-433-6788 or 1-800-836-9906
E-Mail: JIGNOONAN@aol.com
A Better Proposal For Union Station
Poor old Union Station. Indeed hope of restoration has pretty well
run out. Too bad, it was a magnificent structure. I have memories of Boy Scout
meetings there from the 1950's, but that's a story to be related at some future
time. To many, perhaps most people, what is left of the old Union Station is an
eyesore and should be either restored or demolished. I disagree! Anyone who
has traveled in Britain, Ireland, Greece, Italy or almost anywhere for that matter has
toured ancient ruins of one sort or another. Now the Union Station, while not
exactly ancient, is certainly a representation of a different era. As I stand near
it and walk around it surveying its lines, I am struck by the vast changes in our economic
lives that have taken place since it was built. It was obviously a costly building, built
to last and built with such confidence in the future. Automobiles were not even on
the horizon, let alone trucks, both of which would finish the railways as an
economic force to be reckoned with. Much of our own William Rand Kenan's fortune was
railroad money.
It was a time when the great railways were building monuments to their own greatness.
Grand Central Station in New York city was built by the New York Central, and Pen
Station, modeled after the ancient Baths of Caracella in Rome, was built there by the
rival Pennsylvania Railroad.
The fastest communication of the day was telegraphy by wire. Wireless was yet
to come on the scene. The "wire" was strung along the right of way of the
railroad and of course used to communicate the progress of trains along the various
routes.
I propose the money collected so far for its restoration be used rather to stabilize the
remaining structure by pointing the stone and brickwork, filling in the basement, and
making the "ruin" reasonably safe to walk around and admire. One other
such "ruin" in the Niagara County area is the "Old Mill" located near
Gasport just off the Quaker Road. This interesting structure, covered in ivy, well,
poison ivy, is a delight to visit. One can ponder there the very changed lives we
lead from those who toiled there grinding grain into flour. It is kind of a fantasy
structure where you can let your imagination take over just as nature has taken over the
structure itself.
So, for Union Station, let us preserve this magnificent old derelict as it is. It
will then remind us of things past and indicate to us the way things change.
---Peter Buckholtz
Endorses Buckholtz Plan For Union Station
I agree with all that Dr. Buckholtz said.
Let's at least try to save what we have. This is a grand old building. It has
experienced so much, if only it could tell us all it has seen. I would like to
become more involved with what is left of the restoration efforts.
What a waste of $500,000!! So many famous people passed through
that station. Have any of these famous peoples' historic preservation people or
organizations been contacted for assistance? Edison, Roosevelt, Twain? We
cannot let it die!
Anon.
4-16-00
-----------------------
The ariticles have been very interesting and have brought back many
memories of the Lockport area.....my suggestion is to keep the remains and improve the
surrounding property into a UNION STATION PARK where families can bring the younger
generations to appreciate the history Get the historical group, genealogical
group(who must have lists of former station agents and others involved in the history) and
make it a community effort to preserve the wonderful history of Lockport.(The preservation
of the canal area brings back family histories of the many immigrants who traveled and
then settled in the
area...so will the UNION STATION PARK)
We former residents of the area appreciate the news we can receive of the area by internet.... and enjoy our return visits even more when we can visit the places reported. Thank you.
Harriett Landy Nolan formerly of Wilson...
retired teacher from N. Tonawanda and have lived in Payson, AZ for the past 22 years,but
miss your area!!
2-25-02
Scale Model Of Union Station By Doug Roberts On Display At Grimble's Hardware
The
scale model you see was created by Doug Roberts and is a faithful representation done in
1:43 (1/4"=1 foot) scale. The information gathered from old postcards,
photographs, and actual measurements served as the blueprints for this time consuming
endeavor. Details such as the slate roof, roof details, gutters, downspouts, windows
and other structural elements were done as accurately as possible.
The original station was built in 1888 designed by architect John D. Fouquet. It closed as a rail passenger station in 1957. For some time the building was used as a grand restaurant. The dining facility first burned in 1972 and then was finished off by yet another fire in 1978.
The Western Union Telegraph Company had its Lockport operations center here where telegrams came in and were dispatched by delivery boys on bikes around town. It was the era when a "telegram" was regarded as an extremely important and urgent communication. The Telegram was gradually replaced by Telex and TWX data terminals and finally by the FAX machine.
Memory Media Old & New,
Borrowed & True.
We're Adding To Lockport's OnLine Archives Every Day!
The
Lockport Home Page: www.Lockport-NY.com
THE PICTURE OF LOCKPORT