Bethlehem Union Station

Bethlehem
Bethlehem Union Station in 1979
Location	240 Union Station Plaza Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Coordinates	40°36′49.67″N 75°22′59.28″W / 40.6137972°N 75.3831333°WCoordinates: 40°36′49.67″N 75°22′59.28″W / 40.6137972°N 75.3831333°W
Owned by	St. Luke's Hospital
Tracks	2
Construction
Disabled access	No
History
Opened	c. 1851
Closed	July 1, 1981
Rebuilt	November 18, 1867 1924
Services
Former services   Preceding station   SEPTA   Following station Hellertown toward Reading Terminal Bethlehem Line Allentown Closed 1979 Terminus Preceding station   Reading Railroad   Following station Hellertown toward Fern Rock Bethlehem Branch Terminus Easton toward [[Template:S-line/Reading Railroad left/Harrisburg Branch station|Template:S-line/Reading Railroad left/Harrisburg Branch]] Reading Railroad Allentown toward [[Template:S-line/Reading Railroad right/Harrisburg Branch station|Template:S-line/Reading Railroad right/Harrisburg Branch]] Preceding station   Central Railroad of New Jersey   Following station Easton toward Scranton Central Railroad of New Jersey Allentown toward Jersey City

Bethlehem Union Station is a former train station located in the South Side neighborhood of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1924 by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the Reading Company, replacing an earlier station built in 1867. Passenger service to Philadelphia on the SEPTA Regional Rail Bethlehem Line lasted until 1981. The station was renovated in 2002 and used for medical clinics beginning in 2003. It is owned by St. Luke's Hospital.

History

Bethlehem Union Depot in 1909

Location of the former platforms in 2010, with the station building at right

In 1745, the Crown Inn was established as Bethlehem's first public house to serve stagecoach travelers. It soon became an important meeting point in the city, even after the nearby ferry was replaced with a bridge in 1794. The Lehigh Valley Railroad and North Pennsylvania Railroad both reached Bethlehem by 1855; in 1857, the Crown Inn was demolished to allow a new junction between the two railroads at the LV's South Bethlehem station.^[1]

The two railroads built Bethlehem Union Depot, which opened on November 18, 1867. A two-story building with a pointed tower, it was not well liked. In 1924, it was replaced by Bethlehem Union Station, a larger modern brick building.^[1]

Lehigh Valley passenger service ended on February 4, 1961. In 1962, the two railroads attempted to auction off the station building.^[2] However, it was not sold, and the property passed to Conrail when the Reading folded in 1976. Conrail continued to provide commuter service to Allentown under contract to SEPTA, which had been subsidizing service since 1966. As SEPTA discontinued its diesel service in favor of shorter electric lines, the line was cut back to Bethlehem in 1979. In April 1981, SEPTA announced its intentions to discontinue service on the little-used Bethlehem Branch on July 1. PennDOT attempted to take over the service but an eleventh-hour deal with the Berks Area Regional Transportation Authority to operate the trains fell through during contract negotiations.^[3] Service was cut back to Quakertown on July 1, then to Lansdale in August.^[4]

Some restoration work was performed on the derelict station in the 1980s, but it was unused until Ashley Development Corporation refurbished it in 2002.^[1][5] St. Luke's Hospital moved clinics into Union Station in 2003, and bought the building outright in 2008. However, St. Luke's moved most of its services to a nearby building in 2011 and 2013.^[5][6]

References

1. Hubbard, Bill (20 March 1999). "Historic Site, Fine Old Rail Station Are Overlooked". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
2. "AUCTION By Order of The Reading Company and Lehigh Valley Railroad Company.". Reading Eagle. 7 November 1962 – via Google News.
3. Hilferty, John (25 June 1981). "PENNDOT TO HALT COMMUTER TRAINS ON POTTSVILLE AND BETHLEHEM LINES". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B03.
4. Gannett Fleming Inc. (January 2006). "QUAKERTOWN-STONY CREEK PASSENGER RAIL RESTORATION BUSINESS PLAN" (PDF). Bucks County Transportation Management Association. p. 2.
5. Darragh, Tim (25 March 2011). "St. Luke's clinics pulling out of Bethlehem's Union Station". The Morning Call. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
6. St. Luke's Hospital (10 July 2013). "St. Luke's Physical Therapy Relocates Balance & Headache Center" (Press release). PRWeb.

External links

• St. Luke's Union Station
• Station from Riverside Drive on Google Maps Street View