Long Island Rail Road Station at Farmingdale
Also known as: Farmingdale Railroad Station
Why it's listed
Farmingdale's railroad station is a rectangular brick building on Farmingdale Avenue that combines two eras of Long Island transportation. The original one-story depot dates to 1896 and has broad overhanging eaves, passenger waiting sheds with turned posts, and Queen Anne-influenced details such as blind gable dormers and segmental-arched windows. In 1910 a two-and-one-half-story brick tower was attached to the west end to house an electrical substation for the cross-island trolley line from Huntington to Amityville, completed in 1909, with Farmingdale at its midpoint. The tower held a rotary converter and transformers that turned incoming alternating current into the direct current trolley motors used. The station was listed as locally significant for its role in rail and trolley transportation and for its unusual architecture, the only case on the line of a power facility added to an existing station. The trolley equipment is gone and the interior has been updated, but the exterior form remains largely intact, and the building still serves rail passengers.
Significance in brief: The station is argued to be a rare surviving hybrid of Long Island's railroad and interurban trolley eras. The 1910 tower housed the electrical substation for the cross-island trolley line between Huntington and Amityville. It was the only station on the line where the power facility was added onto an existing depot. It is also an example of Queen Anne-influenced small-village station design.
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 91001677, listed November 13, 1991. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Along LIRR tracks between Farmingdale and Forest Aves., Farmingdale |
|---|---|
| County | Nassau County |
| Listed | November 13, 1991 |
| Reference number | 91001677 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c.1896 - 1941 |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne, Edwardian |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in use as a train depot. The trolley electrical equipment has been removed, the upper tower floors are empty with boarded windows, and the interior has been modernized. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 40.73559, -73.44179 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For an income-producing building, listing (individually or as a contributing building in a district) is the gateway to the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit on qualified rehabilitation costs, often stackable with state credits. Work claiming the credit must follow the Secretary of the Interior's Standards and be approved in advance.
Listing does not restrict a private owner acting without federal money or permits; where federal funding or licensing is involved, Section 106 review applies.
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 91001677.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5435859
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.