Lake Shore and Michigan Southern RR Depot and Freight House
Also known as: Mentor Railroad Station
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Why it's listed
Mentor's railroad station at 8445 Station Street consists of a passenger depot and a freight house on opposite sides of the tracks, both dating from about 1900. The depot measures 26 by 66 feet, with a rough-cut limestone base, hard-fired face brick walls, a stone belt course and a gently curved slate hip roof that overhangs the walls by seven feet on wood braces. A projecting bay on the track side holds the ticket office and telegraph room, with separate men's and women's waiting rooms and a baggage room. The gable-roofed freight house has painted brick, a low stone foundation and segmental arched doorways for cargo. The pair was listed as an example of a stock design used by the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad at the height of its expansion, when many similar buildings lined its route. The line from Cleveland to Painesville opened in 1851 and later passed to the New York Central and Penn Central. The city of Mentor sought to restore the buildings.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the pair as fine, well-preserved examples of a stock station design adopted by one railroad at the height of its expansion. Few such related buildings remain from a line that once had many. The city considered the station important to its past and hoped to restore it and return it to use.
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 78002092, listed January 31, 1978. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 8445 Station St., Mentor |
|---|---|
| County | Lake County |
| Listed | January 31, 1978 |
| Reference number | 78002092 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | Ca. 1900 |
| Architectural style | Stock railroad station style of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as excellent and altered; present status shown as occupied. The city hoped to buy and restore the station. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 41.67905, -81.33827 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 78002092.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q56277945
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.