Grab your cameras and hop in your cars!!!!!

Unfortunately, current LIRR leadership seems to relish destroying LIRR heritage. The current Harold tower was built immediately adjacent to the old one. The LIRR quickly razed the old Harold, before a groundswell of support to save it could materialize, because it was "in the way" of the sightlines of the new tower. Duh!!
Jamaica station is going to look silly, when all is said and done, with the modern Airtrain mezzanine juxtapositioned with the old Jamaica station rebuild. They probably would have butchered the Jamaica rebuild, also, save for I believe Jamaica Station has landmark status.
Long term, I have heard that Jay and Hall towers may be combined into one facility. Can anybody take a guess what this place will probably do to the old Jay and Hall towers, if this is true?

Tom

jayrmli wrote:It's time to get a little realistic here and stop using every instance of an old building being demolished as an excuse to bash the MTA and the LIRR.

There are quite a few instances of the MTA and LIRR restoring railroad stations to their former grandeur. As has been mentioned, Saint James and also Riverhead and Farmingdale are at the top of my head.

You still can bash the MTA. In most of these instances it was NOT the LIRR/MTA that restored these structures. Most of the time it is due to community pressure, or the community or municipality themselves resotore them. The LIRR was about the demolish the St. James station a few years back until community outcry saved the building, and got it to be restored. The same with Riverhead. The LIRR transferred title of the Riverhead Station to the Town of Riverhead in 2001, and THEY restored the building. The MTA/LIRR had nothing to do with it. And those two stations would also be a pile of bricks/wood right now if the communities didn't step in. I can't vouch for Farmingdale, but I know the community had a lot to do with the renovations there too.

Tom,

Yes, Jay and Hall Towers (and Dunton, too, though I haven't seen any CIHs there) are being replaced, hence those huge, new central instrument houses next to Hall and Jay. When? I'm not sure. But I would guess in the coming year, if not sooner.

GP38:

You need to get your facts straight. In the case of Riverhead, Federal ISTEA funding was used to restore the building, along with a grant from the Great American Station Foundation. The co-sponsor on this grant was the MTA/LIRR, which oversaw the restortation. (I have the plans that the MTA drew up.)

Once the restoration was complete, THEN the building was leased to the Town of Riverhead. If the Town of Riverhead was in charge of the restoration, not one brick would be cleaned yet. Don't believe me? What has been done to the building since it was transferred? It was given to the Riverhead BID, who said they'd use it for their offices, then declined to move in and is letting it sit there vacant.

While the railroad did want to demolish Saint James, it was willing to leave the building in place when the community became involved. As I said in an earlier post, the MTA is not a museum, they are a commuter railroad. If they don't care about their history, then they don't. Their only chartered goal is to move trains, plain and simple.

Fact of the matter is, the days of the quaint rural passenger station are over. They've been over for quite awhile. The buildings, unless taken over and taken care of by local governments, are destined to become eyesores and liabilities. They'll go the way of the gateman's shanty, interlocking towers and the steam engine.

Jay

Here's the latest from Dave Morrison:


From Preservation Online: The magazine of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

http://www.nationaltrust.org/Magazine/news/index.htm

Dave Keller

here is a picture that is no more











200th post

The station building is no more. The picture, however, still exists.

Jay

Good point!

Dave Keller

LOL

I would venture to guess that when Jay and Hall are replaced by this new "Jamaica Central Control" you will have a chance to buy Jay and Hall on Ebay.

i agree, it wont be long before bricks, railing or so-on frm Jay /Hall will be on Ebay.
for shits n giggles, when/who is going to put DM503 on Ebay lol

are NYA gp-10 parts on ebay yet