RochesterSubway.com : Left for Dead: Rochester’s Union Depot

Posts Tagged ‘Bragdon Station’...

Left for Dead: Rochester’s Union Depot

Friday, November 9th, 2012

I know I keep coming back to this over and over and over again. But I just can’t believe we intentionally reduced this once world-class rail station to rubble only so we could pay tens of millions 50 years later in an attempt external link to build a much smaller and less impressive imitation of what we once had.

I’m not going to say much more about it. I just wanted to share these recently found photos of Rochester’s half-demolished NY Central (Bragdon) Station. Like a decapitated, rotting corpse left to rot in public as a reminder of a brutal ‘auto’cracy. Apparently the building sat like this for about five years before it was finally removed altogether and replaced with the current Amtrak building in the early 70′s. Oy, how painful…

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Friday, November 9th, 2012
Tags: Amtrak Station, architecture, Bragdon Station, Central Avenue, Claude Bragdon, demolition, downtown Rochester, history of Rochester, Joseph Avenue, New York Central Railroad, North Clinton Avenue, NY Central Station, old photos, railroad, Rochester, Rochester history, Rochester NY, Union Station
Posted in Rochester History, Train/Railroad Stuff, Transit + Infrastructure, Urban Development | 9 Comments »

Rochester’s (inspiring) Old Railroad Stations

Saturday, November 6th, 2010

Lots of news has been brewing lately over the future of Rochester’s beat-up, 32-year-old Amtrak station on Central Avenue. Congresswoman Louise Slaughter recently announced that a $1.5 million federal stimulus grant has been awarded to New York state to plan for a new multi-modal station on the site. A $2.5 million appropriation to pay for the station design is expected to pass Congress next month. And Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo has just made it abundantly clear external link that New York will take whatever federal money is left on the table by newly elected GOP governors in Ohio and Wisconsin.

So for now, let’s just assume that something very interesting is in the works for our pitiful excuse for a train station. This is the perfect time to take a step back in time—to be inspired by Rochester’s grand old stations…

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Saturday, November 6th, 2010
Tags: Auburn Railroad Shed, Bragdon Station, Broad Street, Buffalo Rochester & Pittsburgh Railroad, Claude Bragdon, Clinton Avenue, Court Street, Erie Railroad, Eugene Sintzenich, Exchange Street, High Falls, history of Rochester, Lehigh Valley Railroad, Main Street, New York, New York Central Railroad, old photos, old photos of Rochester, railroad, railroad station, Rochester, Rochester Amtrak Station, Rochester history, Rochester NY, Saint Paul Street, vintage postcard, vintage views
Posted in Rochester History, Rochester Images, Train/Railroad Stuff | 12 Comments »

Rochester’s 7th Most Beautiful Train Station in the U.S.

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

I’m a bit late on this but maybe this will be news to you. Some time last year, a notable infrastructure blog called The Infrastructurist, published a list of the top 10 greatest rail stations ever built. Standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the greatest examples of 20th Century American architecture is Rochester’s NY Central Station. What? You’ve never heard of it? That’s probably because it’s not with us anymore — may she rest in peace. The NY Central Station was demolished in 1965. In it’s place, the pretty little Amtrak Station you know and love today. In fact, all of the buildings on the Infrastructurist’s list are no longer.