Park Street Railroad Station
Also known as: Park Street Station-Boston & Maine Railroad
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Why it's listed
Park Street Railroad Station is a one-story red brick depot at 20 Magoun Avenue in East Medford, built in 1893-1894 and designed by Clarence B. Cutler. It has a hip roof carried on curved wooden brackets, a porte-cochere, a baggage wing at the southwest corner, and granite trim including quoins, sills, a string course and a rock-faced foundation. Leaded glass accents the entrances and windows. The station was part of a $150,000 project that doubled the Medford Branch of the Boston and Maine Railroad, and it offered up-to-date baggage, toilet and heating facilities and a comfortable waiting room. It is regarded as one of the railroad's most distinguished depots and as Medford's last surviving one, and it helped spur residential growth around Park, Salem and Spring Streets. The branch closed in 1934, and the railroad gave the building to the city in 1942 after vandalism. A neighborhood social club later leased it to restore it.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it one of the most architecturally distinguished and progressively designed depots built by the Boston and Maine Railroad. Its fine masonry and its survival as Medford's last depot add to its local significance. The station and its demolished predecessor also stimulated residential development nearby and helped make Medford a commuter suburb of Boston.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 75000280, listed April 21, 1975. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 20 Magoun Ave., Medford |
|---|---|
| County | Middlesex County |
| Listed | April 21, 1975 |
| Reference number | 75000280 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1893-1894 |
| Architect / builder | Clarence B. Cutler (designer, 1893) |
| Architectural style | Eclectic (described in the description); Vernacular (data sheet) |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as in good, altered condition with doors and windows boarded up; leased to a neighborhood social club that was attempting to restore it. Owned by the City of Medford. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.41622, -71.09843 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 75000280.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7138057
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.