It only took two months to replace the old Lindenhurst train depot station house, which burned on January 22, 1901. After the use of a local barber shop, the freight house and, finally, a combination passenger and baggage car placed on a siding as temporary ticket offices and waiting rooms, this new single story building opened for business on March 25, when Station Agent Bingham took possession of the new depot on the Southeast corner of Wellwood and Hoffmann Avenues.The South Side Signal praised the architectural qualities of the new station house,, calling it “… a pretty little structure, with low, broad eaves and a cone-shaped, pagoda-like roof”. This photo shows the depot when it was brand new, as the bay window shown above had not yet been installed. Gleste’s Hotel can be seen beyond the depot building in this Southeast view from the North side of the tracks.In the distance, looking West, the freight house can be seen, with a covered express platform on the North side of the tracks. In the foreground, the grade crossing is Wellwood Avenue. There are no crossing gates, note the sign: “Railroad Crossing; Look Out for the Cars”. The station was still lit by gas lamps at this time.A close-up of the crossing sign, with a gas lamp at the center of the photo.Local village residents planted grass and flowers around the station house to spruce up its appearance, as shown in this rear view, looking South toward the tracks. After a few years, a bay window was installed at the ticket window. Notice the gas lamp on the right.A close-up of the station sign from the above photo, showing the distances to Montauk to the East and Long Island City to the West. At this time, before the opening of Penn Station in 1910, the Long Island Railroad tracks terminated at the East River, where Railroad operated ferry boats carried passengers across to Manhattan.
The new bay window on the front of the station house.
A close-up view of the new bay window, with some interesting advertising signs, including one for Coney Island’s Steeplechase Park.Several Years later, electric lights have replaced the gas lamps and the front bay window has been extended to the East end of the structure.An Eastbound train pulls into Lindenhurst Station. By now, there has been the addition of a second wooden passenger waiting shed on the North side of the tracks. Below is a color tinted postcard of the above photo.
Next time: “The Later Years”. Also, don’t forget to register for our monthly Zoom presentation “Zooming Through Lindy History” on the Library Website https://lindenhurst.librarycalendar.com/. The next installment is “Houses of Worship” on Wednesday, June 23, 2:00 pm.
Also, we are featuring a Zoom discussion on the upcoming Babylon Town Sesquicentennial with Town Historian Mary Cascone on Wednesday, June 9 at 2:00 pm. Please register using the above link.
We are also looking for any old photos of Lindenhurst that we may borrow, copy and return to the owner. Please contact Librarian Peter Muhr, pmuhr@lindenhurstlibrary.org 631-957-7755, ext. 135.
