Ridgewood in Bergen County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Ridgewood Station
Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 31, 2017
1. Ridgewood Station Marker
Inscription.
Ridgewood Station. .
Ridgewood Station Date: 1916 W. W. Drinker and Frank A. Howard, Engineers. Ridgewood Station is a fine, and possibly unique (for New Jersey) example of the Mission Revival style, first popularized in California during the 1890's. Distinctive characteristics such as round arch arcades, shaped parapets with a curvilinear outline, smooth stucco walls, and Spanish tile roof, are all skillfully and consistently integrated throughout the complex. One of the engineers for the building, Frank A. Howard, once worked in California for the Southern Pacific, and obviously brought that states stylistic conventions with him when he came east. Although it was common for lines such as the Southern Pacific, Topeka, and Santa Fe to build in the Mission Revival style, it was rare for an eastern line to do so. The station was built by the Erie Railroad on its Main Line which was formerly made up of two predecessor lines. The first line was built for shipping goods from the city of Paterson to Passaic and was chartered as the Paterson and Hudson River Railroad in 1831 by a group of Paterson businessmen. The line was extended through Bergen Hill and reached Jersey City in 1838. At the same time, the Erie Railroad was building a line west from Piermont to Suffern, N.Y. (the Piermont Branch) which caused Paterson entrepreneurs to petition the State legislature to charter a new railroad, the Paterson and Ramapo Railroad Company, to connect with the Erie spur. By 1852, the Erie Railroad controlled the two Paterson-based railroads. A grade separation project at Ridgewood, which resulted in the bridge at the south end of the station, was a hard-fought victory for the village since the railroad agreed to fund less than half the total cost of the project. The village has historically been an important commuter stop. Until the discontinuation of long-distance service to the west, it was possible to travel between Ridgewood and Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati without changing trains. Ridgewood Station was listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1984 and is recognized as a local landmark. Photo credit: Ridgewood Public Library Sponsored by NJ Transit
Ridgewood Station
Date: 1916
W. W. Drinker and Frank A. Howard, Engineers
Ridgewood Station is a fine, and possibly unique (for New Jersey) example of the Mission Revival style, first popularized in California during the 1890's. Distinctive characteristics such as round arch arcades, shaped parapets with a curvilinear outline, smooth stucco walls, and Spanish tile roof, are all skillfully and consistently integrated throughout the complex. One of the engineers for the building, Frank A. Howard, once worked in California for the Southern Pacific, and obviously brought that states stylistic conventions with him when he came east. Although it was common for lines such as the Southern Pacific, Topeka, and Santa Fe to build in the Mission Revival style, it was rare for an eastern line to do so. The station was built by the Erie Railroad on its Main Line which was formerly made up of two predecessor lines. The first line was built for shipping goods from the city of Paterson to Passaic and was chartered as the Paterson & Hudson River Railroad in 1831 by a group of Paterson businessmen. The line was extended through Bergen
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Hill and reached Jersey City in 1838. At the same time, the Erie Railroad was building a line west from Piermont to Suffern, N.Y. (the Piermont Branch) which caused Paterson entrepreneurs to petition the State legislature to charter a new railroad, the Paterson & Ramapo Railroad Company, to connect with the Erie spur. By 1852, the Erie Railroad controlled the two Paterson-based railroads. A grade separation project at Ridgewood, which resulted in the bridge at the south end of the station, was a hard-fought victory for the village since the railroad agreed to fund less than half the total cost of the project. The village has historically been an important commuter stop. Until the discontinuation of long-distance service to the west, it was possible to travel between Ridgewood and Chicago, Cleveland, and Cincinnati without changing trains. Ridgewood Station was listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1984 and is recognized as a local landmark.
Photo credit: Ridgewood Public Library Sponsored by NJ Transit
Erected by NJ Transit.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists:
Location. 40° 58.861′ N, 74° 7.241′ W. Marker is in Ridgewood, New Jersey, in Bergen County. It is at the intersection of W. Ridgewood Avenue and Garber Square, on the left when traveling east on W. Ridgewood Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 20 Garber Square, Ridgewood NJ 07450, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in New Jersey’s North Jersey, in Greater Newark, and in the New York City Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Mid-Atlantic, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Netherland and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Ridgewood Train Station Complex
1916
W. W. Drinker and Frank A. Howard
Engineers, Erie Railroad
Listed on the New Jersey and
National Registers of Historic Places
1984
Roof Restoration Project
2008 to 2011
Connelly & Hickey Historical Architects
Paragon Restoration Corporation
Northeast Roofing Maintenance, Inc.
Ridgewood Train Station Complex
Roof Restoration Funding
Village of Ridgewood
Bergen County Historic Preservation Trust Fund,
a part of the Bergen County Open Space, Recreation,
Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund
New Jersey Department of Transportation
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development
Economic Development Initiative
4. Looking north along the platform at the Ridgewood Train Station
Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 31, 2017
5. A NJ Tansit train departs the Ridgewood Train Station southbound, heading to Hoboken.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 7, 2017. It was originally submitted on September 7, 2017, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 984 times since then and 59 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 7, 2017, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.
