{"nrhp_refnum":"85003164","name":"Reading Railroad Passenger Station-Tamaqua","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off W. Broad St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tamaqua","county":"Schuylkill County","state":"PA","lat":40.79795347000004,"lon":-75.97012312499999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-12-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story Italianate brick railroad passenger station with a T-shaped plan and a freight-house section, located on the edge of downtown Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The original depot dates to 1874, with additions in 1880 and 1885.","why_significant":"The station served as the origin point for passenger trains from Tamaqua to eastern Pennsylvania cities and as a meal stop on the Reading Railroad's Philadelphia to Williamsport line, where it had a restaurant by 1877. It was one of six intermediate-size stations the Reading Railroad built between 1872 and 1876, and it is one of only two of those that survive. Its design reflects the functional and decorative character of small-town Victorian railroad stations.","narrative":"Built in 1874 by the Reading Railroad on the edge of downtown Tamaqua, this brick station in the Italianate style had its T-shaped plan completed by additions in 1880 and 1885, the latter adding a freight house. Its low hip roof, bracketed cornice, and projecting brick courses reflect the design of small-town Victorian railroad stations. The building was the departure point for passenger trains to Philadelphia, Reading, Mauch Chunk, and Williamsport, and it was a meal stop on the Philadelphia to Williamsport run, with a restaurant by 1877. Its freight house handled local shipments, served as a post office collection point, and later housed a trolley company office. Passenger traffic peaked in 1904 and then declined with competition from trolleys, buses, and automobiles. The last passenger train departed in 1963. The station is one of two surviving stations from a group of six built by the railroad in the 1870s.","period_of_significance":"1874-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Italianate","criteria":["A"],"status_note":"The last passenger train left in 1963; the railroad used the building for administrative purposes until 1980, when it was sold to the Borough of Tamaqua. A fire of suspicious origin damaged the men's waiting room, and the Tamaqua Historical Society has been working on restoration.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:13:26.834563-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/85003164.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003164/2fe9a4b9f2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85003164/2fe9a4b9f2-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Publichall","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamaqua_Railroad_Station.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Publichall</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tamaqua_Railroad_Station.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71998334","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamaqua_station","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7680717"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/schuylkill-county/reading-railroad-passenger-station-tamaqua-85003164/"}