Wakefield Centre Station
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Wakefield Centre station is a former railway station at 57 Water Street ( Route 129) in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Built in the early 1870s, it is a surviving element of the railroad infrastructure that enabled Wakefield's growth as an industrial center in the late 19th century. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989 as Centre Depot. As of 2008, the former depot serves as a restaurant.


Description and history

The station building is located on the south side of Water Street, east of Main Street, and on the west side of a now-abandoned railroad right of way. It is a single-story wood-frame structure, rectangular in plan, with a hip roof that has deep eaves supported by large knee braces, which are set in paneled pilasters on the walls. A polygonal bay projects on the track-facing facade, that would have been used by a telegraph operator or ticket agent. The railroad was built through Wakefield around 1850, and had immediate positive economic consequences. One line was built north to
Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada Ontario * Bruce County ** Salem, Arran–Elderslie, Ontario, in the municipality of Arran–Elderslie ** Salem, South Bruce, Ontario, in the municipality of South Bruce * Salem, Dufferin County, Ontario, part ...
, and it is along this line that a station at this site was probably established around that time. A second line was built toward Haverhill, and is now used for the Haverhill Line of the
MBTA Commuter Rail The MBTA Commuter Rail system serves as the commuter rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's transportation coverage of Greater Boston in the United States. Trains run over of track to 141 different stations, with 58 statio ...
. The Salem line was used by two of Wakefield's major manufacturers, the Wakefield Rattan Company, and the L. B. Evans Shoe Company. The present station first appears on city maps in 1874, suggesting a construction date between then and 1870. The former station building was converted to a restaurant by 1962. The exterior was restored to its original red-and-white colors based on a 1917 postcard.


See also

*
Wakefield station (MBTA) Wakefield station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wakefield, Massachusetts served by the Haverhill Line. The station has two side platforms, which are not accessible, serving the line's two tracks. The station building, constructed in 1889, ...
, which can be found west of this station. *
National Register of Historic Places listings in Wakefield, Massachusetts This is a list of properties and historic districts in Wakefield, Massachusetts, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The locations of National Register properties and districts (at least for all showing latitude and long ...
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Massachusetts


References


External links

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Stations along Boston and Maine Railroad lines Railway stations in Middlesex County, Massachusetts Former railway stations in Massachusetts Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Wakefield, Massachusetts Railway stations in the United States opened in 1900