Bennington Railroad Station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Bennington Railroad Station
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 Location in Vermont
Location in the United States
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| Location | 150 Depot St., Bennington, Vermont |
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| Area | 0.4 acres (0.16 ha) |
| Built | 1897 |
| Architect | Bull, William C. |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 88001301 |
| Added to NRHP | November 9, 1988 |
The Bennington Railroad Station is an old train station in Bennington, Vermont. It was built a long time ago, in 1897-1898, by a company called the Bennington and Rutland Railroad. This station is special because it's the only one in Vermont built in a unique style called Richardsonian Romanesque. It's so important that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. For many years, it was a restaurant, but that closed in 2018.
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What Makes the Station Special?
The Bennington Railroad Station is located just outside downtown Bennington. It's a single-story building made of stone. The building is shaped like a rectangle. It has a rounded part at one end, called an apse. There's also a part that sticks out, which used to be a covered entrance for carriages, called a porte-cochere.
Old train tracks are still next to the building. There's also a newer part added to the south. This addition was built in 1986 to make more space for the restaurant. The part of the building where the train agent used to work sticks out towards the tracks.
A Look Back: Station History
Train service in Bennington first started in North Bennington, which is about 5 miles (8 km) north of the town center. In 1854, a special train line was built to connect North Bennington to downtown Bennington. A wooden train station was built then.
By 1897, the old wooden station was getting worn out. So, the Bennington and Rutland Railroad asked a local architect named William C. Bull to design a new one. The station you see today was finished in 1898.
Unique Architecture: Richardsonian Romanesque
The design of the Bennington Railroad Station is very similar to a station designed by a famous architect named Henry Hobson Richardson. His style is called Richardsonian Romanesque. This style often uses strong stone, rounded arches, and towers. The Bennington station is the only example of this unique train station style in all of Vermont.
From Trains to Tables
Passenger trains stopped coming to downtown Bennington in the early 1930s. It's not clear when freight trains stopped using the station.
In 1966, the train station building was sold to private owners. Then, in 1970, it was turned into a restaurant. The restaurant was a popular spot for many years. However, it closed its doors in 2018.
