by savethebig4
Mattoon Illinois was established as a railroad town at the crossing of the Illinois Central and the Terre Haute & Alton in the 1850s. It is named for William Mattoon, construction engineer for the TH&A. This line eventually became part of the Big Four Railroad, which built an impressive Beaux-Arts passenger depot in 1917 when the Illinois Central dropped its tracks below street level nearby.
The depot continued to serve the New York Central after it absorbed the Big Four in 1929, until passenger service on this line ended in 1964. It has been all but forgotten since then, and its fate was sealed after Conrail abandoned the line in 1985 and the tracks were pulled. As far as I know, this station is the last remaining structure from the Big Four/NYC on this line.
Although vacant for 40 years, as you can see that the masonry looks pretty solid. The city and the current owner say it is structurally unsound and want to replace it with (you guessed it) parking.
The Illinois Central Depot next door is finally being restored after years of neglect. It seems that the Big Four is being offered up as the sacrificial lamb, when it really should be considered complimentary to the project. Where else are there two historic stations, built at the same time by different roads, sitting right next to each other?!
Though it is the 11th hour, I hope that something may yet be done to save this long neglected treasure. Should there be anyone on this board with any experience with projects like this, any advice or suggestion would be appreciated.
I am looking for help organizing an effort to save the structure as well as securing funding to restore it. Time does seem to be critical.
http://home.mchsi.com/~rankin/big4.html
[email protected]
The depot continued to serve the New York Central after it absorbed the Big Four in 1929, until passenger service on this line ended in 1964. It has been all but forgotten since then, and its fate was sealed after Conrail abandoned the line in 1985 and the tracks were pulled. As far as I know, this station is the last remaining structure from the Big Four/NYC on this line.
Although vacant for 40 years, as you can see that the masonry looks pretty solid. The city and the current owner say it is structurally unsound and want to replace it with (you guessed it) parking.
The Illinois Central Depot next door is finally being restored after years of neglect. It seems that the Big Four is being offered up as the sacrificial lamb, when it really should be considered complimentary to the project. Where else are there two historic stations, built at the same time by different roads, sitting right next to each other?!
Though it is the 11th hour, I hope that something may yet be done to save this long neglected treasure. Should there be anyone on this board with any experience with projects like this, any advice or suggestion would be appreciated.
I am looking for help organizing an effort to save the structure as well as securing funding to restore it. Time does seem to be critical.
http://home.mchsi.com/~rankin/big4.html
[email protected]
