Re: (rshsdepot) Bethlehem, PA

["James Kelling" <james.kelling_@_nara.gov>]

Union Station was saved, but altered considerably by the renovation.  Unfortunately, the nearby freight station was demolished for a parking lot for the new center.  Also filled in was the passenger tunnel on the south side bearing a heavily rusted sign, "Pass Through Tunnel to Reading Company Southbound Trains."  

>>> brwagenblast_@_comcast.net 10/13/03 08:41AM >>>
Renovated Train Depot in Bethlehem Opens as Health Services Center

The Morning Call, Allentown, Pennsylvania

Oct. 10--Just two years ago, only brave souls would have strolled through
the unlit, dusty streets to south Bethlehem's decrepit Union Station, an
abandoned train depot decaying on the banks of the Lehigh River.
The blighted structure, wrapped in ivy and crumbling from water damage, was
once an ornate brick and limestone jumping-off point for passengers looking
to ride the rails in air-conditioned cars as far north as Canada and as far
west as Chicago.

The classical Greek structure instead became a depot for vandals and for the
broken dreams of city officials and developers, who pitched reuses such as
nightclubs, antique shops and restaurants for the building, unused since
1961.

"To say this building was in disrepair is an understatement," Lou Pektor,
head of Ashley Development Corp., said Thursday as dozens of Northampton
County area government and business officials converged at the renovated
station, now an outpatient health services center for St. Luke's Hospital.

The station, owned by Ashley Development, is being leased by the hospital.

The grand opening of the $4.5 million project, complete with performances by
ragtime musicians, allowed visitors to roam through the large waiting room
that has been carved into offices and examination rooms.

"This was a monumental task," Pektor said. "It is probably one of the most
unique adaptive reuses of a train station in Pennsylvania."

Paving the way for the project is $670,000 from a $111 million Northampton
County bond. The money is part of a $1.85 million allocation for parking
near Union Station and other proposed projects.

The station will dispense internal medicine and surgical and specialty care
at St. Luke's Health Center, pediatrics at KidsCare, and advanced wound
therapy at another office.

A wooden station stood on the property from 1867 to 1924, when it was
demolished and replaced by this structure. Lehigh Valley Railroad stopped
its operations inside the depot in 1961, and the Reading Railroad's last
service outside was in 1978.

Bethlehem Mayor James Delgrosso said he believes the renovation, near a new
Perkins restaurant, the Banana Factory arts center and the Comfort Suites
Hotel, is just one more piece of the puzzle to revitalize the South Side.

Nearby is the abandoned Norfolk-Southern rail line that the city is
negotiating to purchase from the railroad company and convert into a green
walkway.

"That will be yet another diamond in the rough of south Bethlehem,"
Delgrosso said.

Doug Caldwell, chairman of St. Luke's board of trustees, said the new center
will provide much needed health services for the South Side.

"This is a great step for this community," Caldwell said, "part of the
tremendous renaissance that has taken place here on the South Side."

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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org 



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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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