Third Railroad Station

Located at 100 School Street in Andover, this brick and stone building served as the third railroad station on the Boston & Maine line between Boston and Lawrence. The form gives 1906 as its date and says it opened in 1908. It replaced a much larger wood-frame depot built over the tracks around 1850 in the Italianate style. The first station, built around 1835 on Essex Street, later became a theater and now holds town offices. The station is designed in the Shingle style, with a low, compact form, a lozenge-shaped plan, a rounded hip roof, hipped dormers and a granite base. A passenger arcade with wooden posts and brackets runs along the front. Its significance rests on its link to local commerce during Andover's peak industrial period and on its quality as one of the town's best Shingle-style buildings. It has been used commercially since the 1970s, and late twentieth-century storefront alterations are noted, though the building keeps its overall integrity.