{"nrhp_refnum":"03000791","name":"Bedford Depot","other_names":["Bedford Depot Park Historic District"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"80 Loomis St. and 120 South Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bedford","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.48594115800006,"lon":-71.27669543699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-08-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small railroad historic district of about one-half acre at 80 Loomis Street and 120 South Road in Bedford, Massachusetts, made up of a passenger depot (1874) and a freight house (1877, built as an engine house). Both were moved to their present sites in the late 1870s.","why_significant":"The district illustrates the establishment and growth of railroad operations in Bedford from the 1870s onward. The depot and freight house are the only surviving railroad buildings in town. It meets Criteria A and C, and Criteria Consideration B because the buildings were moved, at the local level.","narrative":"Bedford Depot Park Historic District is a half-acre cluster of two railroad buildings at the edge of Bedford's historic center, beside the Minuteman Bikeway. The passenger depot, built in 1874 by the Middlesex Central Railroad, is a two-story wood-frame building with cedar shingle siding and a tile hipped roof. Its train order signals, dating to about 1886, project through the eaves. The freight house began in 1877 as an engine house for the narrow-gauge Billerica & Bedford Railroad and later served the Boston & Lowell. Both buildings were moved to the junction of two rail lines as operations expanded. They are the only surviving railroad buildings in Bedford, where rail service ended entirely in 1977. The district was listed for its link to the growth of the town's railroad activity and for the buildings' architecture, from a period of significance of 1874 to 1953. The town acquired both in 1999 for a public park serving pedestrians and cyclists.","period_of_significance":"1874-1953","architect_builder":"Middlesex Central Railroad (Boston & Lowell Railroad); Billerica & Bedford Railroad","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Victorian Eclectic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Both buildings are owned by the Town of Bedford, acquired in 1999, and are part of a park project under development. The depot has been used as commercial offices, and the freight house has had several commercial and community uses.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.836014-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7960/63796061/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/03000791.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000791/9c63b7334a-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000791/9c63b7334a-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Tim Pierce","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bedford_Depot_Park.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Pierce</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bedford_Depot_Park.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796061","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_Depot","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4879136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/bedford-depot-03000791/"}