White Plains Station

Here's the way it looks today.

Probably a little closer to the actual site of the old station. In fact it kind of looks like it's still back there; but it's not.

Tommy Meehan wrote:Tearing down the old station had very little to do with the future of rail suburban passenger service. The platforms had already been moved about two blocks north in the early 1970s when high level platforms were installed with the advent of the M1A MU cars. By 1980 or 1981 the station had closed and the ticket agency was moved to a large trailer located near the high level platforms.

The old station was torn down in 1983ish (I think it was actually a couple years earlier than that) because the city wanted to clear the site for an urban renewal development project. The City of White Plains already owned the building through the city's Urban Renewal Agency. (I worked for Airway Taxi Inc. back then and our dispatch office was located in the station. The Urban Renewal Agency was our landlord and when we paid our rent the check was made out to them.) The city had a deal ready with a developer who was going to build a hotel (with a conference center on the ground floor I think). A community group wanted the station to get protected status as a historic landmark. White Plains wanted a hotel! The project fell through, a victim of the recession in the early 1980s, but eventually the site was developed.

Here's a postcard view of the old (circa 1913) station, the one that was torn down, when it was brand new. It changed very little over the years.

Wow that looks almost identical to the station in Poughkeepsie. Was this a standard New York Central Lines design for small-city stations?

I'm not sure that Central had a template for small-city passenger stations. Perhaps they did. The common theme between Poughkeepsie and White Plains -- also Yonkers and Mount Vernon West -- were the architects, Warren & Wetmore. They also designed Grand Central Terminal and I've always thought the smaller stations were in some ways derivative of GCT. They are all examples of Beaux Art architecture at any rate.

Historicaerials.com has aerial photography from many years when the original station was still around

http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1949" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 1949 [my fav year since if you go over where the Westchester mall is today, the NYW&B station is still there, delapidated and awaiting demolition]
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1953" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 1953
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1960" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 1960
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1964" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 1964
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials. ... &year=1971" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; - 1971