Lackawanna Terminal (Montclair, New Jersey)

Lackawanna Terminal is a former railroad terminal in Montclair, New Jersey. Built in 1913, the station was the western terminal of the Montclair Branch of the Morris and Essex Lines, part of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The station, boasting four platforms and six tracks, was designed by William Hull Botsford, an architect who died in the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912. The station opened on June 28, 1913, in a grand ceremony in Montclair. The station was used until March 2, 1981, when NJ Transit moved service to a single-platform station at Bay Street. The 1913 station was converted to an enclosed shopping mall and supermarket.

MONTCLAIR
General information
Location	Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair, Essex County, New Jersey 07042
Coordinates	40°48′41″N 74°12′48″W
Platforms	4
Tracks	6
Other information
Station code	604[1]
History
Opened	June 28, 1913[2]
Closed	March 2, 1981[3][4]
Electrified	September 3, 1930[5]
Former services
Preceding station Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Following station Terminus Montclair Branch Glen Ridge toward Hoboken
Montclair Railroad Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Abandoned platforms in 1983, with Grove Street Bridge in background.
Location	Lackawanna Plaza, Montclair, New Jersey
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1913
Architect	William Hull Botsford
Architectural style	Grecian-Doric
NRHP reference No.	73001092[6]
NJRHP No.	1155[7]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 8, 1973
Designated NJRHP	August 7, 1972

Listed as the Montclair Railroad Station, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 1973, for its significance in architecture and transportation.^[8] According to former township historian Jack Chance, the station qualified for three main reasons. One was its architectural significance, including the overall design, the tapestry bond brickwork, the marble concrete trim, the interior brick and tile work and ornamentation, the iron work in the ticket windows. The next factor was the importance of architect Botsford. The third consideration was the station's importance as a transportation center in the history of Montclair Township.^[9]

In 2019, the complex was threatened with demolition.^[10] In 2024, a new developer reopened it as a shopping center.^[11]

Gallery

• 
  Renovated exterior of terminal in 2008.
• 
  Shopping mall interior in 2010.

See also

• Operating Passenger Railroad Stations Thematic Resource (New Jersey)
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Essex County, New Jersey

References

1. "List of Station Numbers". Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. 1952. p. 2. Retrieved June 2, 2019.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
2. "Montclair Joyous in New Terminal". The New York Times. June 29, 1913. p. 11. Retrieved January 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Grodt, Rod (February 26, 1981). "Bay St. Station Opens Monday". The Montclair Times. pp. 1, 12. Retrieved January 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Bay Street Railroad Station Opens". The Montclair Times. March 5, 1981. p. 1, 9. Retrieved January 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "D.L.&W. Electric Train Hoboken to Montclair". The Madison Eagle. September 5, 1930. p. 6. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "National Register Information System – (#73001092)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
7. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Essex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. September 29, 2022. p. 10.
8. Historic Sites Section (July 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Montclair Railroad Station". National Park Service. With accompanying two photos
9. Chance, Jack (1981). "Letter to Director of the Montclair Redevelopment Agency". Montclair History Center.
10. Winters, Jamie Julia (May 16, 2019). "Lackawanna Train Station Makes Top 10 Most NJ Endangered Historic Sites". Montclair Local.
11. "Holiday shopping reimagined at Lackawanna station in Montclair". News 12 New Jersey. November 30, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.