Train Station Transitions

How does Jamestown's train station reflect the constancy of change in American cities?

When it opened in 1932, the Erie Railroad Station was a monument to an industry that had already peaked. Less than 40 years later, the station—and the era of passenger rail travel in Jamestown—would close.

But the gleaming new station was also a marker of progress for the city, replacing a much smaller station from 1897. In Graham King’s design, the Erie’s lead architect expressed the city’s and the railroad’s need for a building that was monumental and modern—especially in the streamlined entry pavilion with smooth stone and subtle classical detailing.

After a lengthy restoration, the station reopened in 2012 as a transportation center for buses and will now play a central role in the development of Jamestown's National Comedy Center.