Waypoint Center

Waypoint Center. . The Bellows Falls Waypoint Center stands in an old railyard which once served the Boston and Maine Railroad. Once the railroads came through, in 1849, the area was built up with many storage buildings used by local businesses for receiving deliveries from the railroad-ranging from coal to flour and feed. A tall water tank was located near to the tracks to service the frequent steam locomotives. While these buildings are gone, leaving only the old former stable immediately next to the canal, the area continues as a vital rail center. , The Waypoint Center, representative of a train locomotive and railroad station platform, reminds one of the busy railyard of days past. Bisecting the platform, the sidewalk and soaring steel arches evoke the old Arch Bridge which had graced the community for much of the last century. The longest arch bridge in the US when it was built in 1905, it was demolished in 1982. The Waypoint’s overall layout mirrors the shape of the nearby village center, where Rockingham and Canal Streets meet to become the Town Square. Here a “bridge” and a “train” cross paths, creating a square, the patio meeting area. In these architectural details, the Waypoint Center narrates some of the history of Bellows Falls, and now occupies its own special place in the heart of our historic rail district.