Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Station
Also known as: California Public Library
Why it's listed
Built about 1910-12 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, this one-story red brick passenger station stands in California, a community on the west bank of the Monongahela River about fifty rail miles from Pittsburgh. Its steeply pitched hipped roof has wide bracketed overhangs and is covered in heavy red tile. Stone facing frames the doors and windows, and a brick and stone chimney rises from the roof. The building was planned with a ticket office, restroom space, two waiting rooms and an eastern baggage room. It replaced an earlier wooden depot built after the railroad acquired the site in 1885. Its importance lies in its connection to the rail traffic that carried coal from the surrounding Washington County fields to the steel mills of Pittsburgh. The station is valued as a small early twentieth-century depot that has changed little apart from its 1958 heating and interior work, and it was later converted to library use.
Significance in brief: The nomination describes it as a little-altered example of a small Pennsylvania Railroad depot from the early twentieth century. It notes the railroad's role in moving coal from the Washington County fields to Pittsburgh steel mills. Its later adaptive reuse as a public library is cited as helping preserve it after railroad ownership ended.
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 79002349, listed June 19, 1979. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Water and Wood Sts, California |
|---|---|
| County | Washington County |
| Listed | June 19, 1979 |
| Reference number | 79002349 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1900-1930 |
| Areas of significance | Transportation, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Adaptively reused as a public library after railroad ownership; alterations in 1958 changed the heating system and interior fittings. |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 40.06820, -79.88905 (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 79002349.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5020222
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.