Lenox station (Massachusetts) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Lenox Railroad Station
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Lenox Station and the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 10 Willow Creek Rd. Lenox, Massachusetts |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1902 |
| Architect | James Clifford's Sons |
| Architectural style | Tudor Revival |
| NRHP reference No. | 89000225 |
| Added to NRHP | June 16, 1989 |
Lenox station is a former Housatonic Railroad train in Lenox, Massachusetts. Built in 1902, it served as the town's railroad station, on a line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, until 1970. Now home to the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum, it serves as a stop on the heritage railroad service provided by the museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as Lenox Railroad Station.
Description and history
The former Lenox Railroad Station is located in eastern Lenox, at the northeast corner of Housatonic Road and Willow Creek Road. The railroad tracks run between the station and Woods Pond, a wide bulge in the Housatonic River. The station itself is 1-1/2 stories in height, with attached covered passenger shelters extending along the platform to the north and south. The station is Tudor Revival in style, with a stucco and false half-timbered exterior.
The station was built in 1902 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (or New Haven Railroad), replacing the one that had been built around 1850 by the Stockbridge & Pittsfield Railroad and which had burned to the ground the previous year. It is architecturally unusual in the region, where the Tudor Revival was not commonly seen in railroad station architecture. The station and line were acquired by the Housatonic Railroad, which became the Berkshire Division of the New Haven Railroad in 1892.
From 1937 the Tanglewood hosted summer music events five miles to the west of the station. In peak mid-20th century years of passenger service, the Berkshire, Housatonic, Litchfield, Mahaiwe, Mahkeenac, Taconic, Umpachanee, and unnamed trains on the New Haven's Berkshire Division made stops at the station on trips between New York City and Pittsfield. The station went out of full year service in 1958; thereafter, trains made stops at the station only from May 26 to October 26. The last summer of passenger service was 1970, prior to Amtrak's assuming the Penn Central's operation of intercity trains on May 1, 1971. It now serves as the home of the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum.
