The architectural firm Warren and Wetmore designed the beaux arts-style building, along with stations in Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park and Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan
The building is the only remaining railroad station of the four that once served both passengers and freight transport.
West Shore Railroad was founded in 1883 to compete with New York Central Railroad, which offered service east of the Hudson River. When West Shore filed for bankruptcy in 1885, New York Central acquired its operations on the west side of the river.
The 1909 station boasted a red-tile roof, arched windows, Flemish bond brick exterior and a lobby that featured marble floors, bronze staircase railings and ticket windows with bronze grating. It is close to where Newburgh's Union Station once stood.
"Union is generally the word that you put on a station when it is being used by more than one line," said Mary McTamaney, the City of Newburgh historian. "The Erie, West Shore and even the New England-Connecticut lines would have transferred people and freight through Newburgh."
Upon opening, the New York Central station experienced a flurry of activity, serving commuters traveling south to jobs at West Point and others riding north to work at local brickyards. Many local residents routinely traveled by rail to Newburgh to attend performances at one of its eight theaters.
"Newburgh was the cultural hub for the Hudson Valley in the 1920s, '30s and '40s, and people came all the time to see vaudeville, theater and motion pictures," McTamaney said."
"We had trolleys that ran adjacent to the railroad tracks that would pick up passengers at the station and take them to uptown Newburgh, New Windsor and even down to Harriman, which was a big rail hub at that time," she said.
As automobile use grew and superhighways were built, rail travel decreased. The last passenger train departed Newburgh in 1958.
In 1970, Conrail, owner/operator of the now-dedicated freight line, removed one set of tracks in Newburgh to decrease its tax liability, based on the length of track maintained. Urban renewal during the 1960s and 1970s also took its toll on the station district, which saw a number of shops, restaurants and hotels torn down.
Long vacant, the station suffered the effects of nature, neglect and vandalism. A fire in 1992 and another in 2008 further damaged the structure.
In 2009, the station got a new life when Newburgh native Ray Yannone purchased it and began to restore it to its original luster. Last month, its first tenant, Railroad Playhouse, opened the station's front doors to the public.
"We've always felt that not only is the station itself historically significant but its location is the gateway to the waterfront for Newburgh," said Nancy Billman, president of the Newburgh Preservation Association. "We're thrilled that it has finally been restored."
