Tamaqua is a disused railway station located in

Tamaqua, Pennsylvania Tamaqua (pronounced tuh-MAH-qwah, del, tëmakwe) is a borough in eastern Schuylkill County in the Coal Region of Pennsylvania, United States. It had a population of 6,934 as of the 2020 U.S. census. Tamaqua was established from territory from ...

. It is part of the

Tamaqua Historic District The Tamaqua Historic District is a national historic district that is located in Schuylkill Township and Tamaqua, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. History and architectural features This district includes 944 contributing buildings, three con ...

. The station was originally constructed by the

Philadelphia and Reading Railroad The Reading Company ( ) was a Philadelphia-headquartered railroad that provided passenger and commercial rail transport in eastern Pennsylvania and neighboring states that operated from 1924 until its 1976 acquisition by Conrail. Commonly called ...

in 1874, which had earlier acquired the

Little Schuylkill Navigation Railroad and Coal Company The Little Schuylkill Navigation, Railroad and Coal Company (LSRR) was a railway company in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania in the 19th century. The main line ran from Port Clinton to Tamaqua, for a total of . History The railroad received a ch ...

. It is a one-story brick building in the

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

style. An addition was made to the original 1874 building in 1880, giving it a "T-plan." In 1885, a freight house was added. ''Note:'' This includes The station ceased train operations in 1961 and was formally abandoned in 1981. In 1984, a local family offered to purchase the railroad station and proposed that the building would be turned into a museum, similar to

Steamtown, U.S.A. Steamtown, U.S.A., was a steam locomotive museum that ran steam excursions out of North Walpole, New Hampshire, and Bellows Falls, Vermont, from the 1960s to 1983. The museum was founded by millionaire seafood industrialist F. Nelson Blount. T ...

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on December 26, 1985, as the Reading Railroad Passenger Station--Tamaqua. Following a $1.5 million restoration, the building was reopened in 2004 as a heritage center. In 2023, the station will be featured on a

USPS The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U. ...

Forever stamp Non-denominated postage is postage intended to meet a certain postage rate that retains full validity for that intended postage rate even after the rate is increased. It does not show a monetary value, or denomination, on the face. In many Engli ...

in a 5-stamp "Railroad Stations" series. The stamp illustrations were made by Down the Street Designs, and Derry Noyes served as the art director.

References

External links

Tamaqua Railroad StationVisit Pennsylvania – Tamaqua Railroad Station
Italianate architecture in Pennsylvania Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Railway stations in the United States opened in 1874 Former Reading Company stations Transportation buildings and structures in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Former railway stations in Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-NRHP-stub