Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center

For other stations with similar names, see Niagara Falls station (disambiguation).
Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center

The new station under construction in July 2016.
Location 825 Depot Ave West, Niagara Falls, New York
United States
Coordinates 43°06′35″N 79°03′19″W / 43.10972°N 79.05528°W / 43.10972; -79.05528Coordinates: 43°06′35″N 79°03′19″W / 43.10972°N 79.05528°W / 43.10972; -79.05528
Owned by City of Niagara Falls
Line(s) Niagara Subdivision
Empire Corridor
Platforms 1
Tracks 2
Bus operators NFTA route 50
Discover Niagara
Construction
Parking Free
Bicycle facilities Yes
Disabled access Yes
History
Opening December 6, 2016
Services
  Planned  
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station
TerminusEmpire Service
planned 2016
toward Toronto
Maple Leaf
planned 2016
U.S. Customhouse

U.S. Customhouse, June 2009. Note the railroad bridge on the right, then partially obscured by trees.
Location 2245 Whirlpool St., Niagara Falls, New York
Area less than one acre
Built 1863
NRHP Reference # 73001227[1]
Added to NRHP July 16, 1973
Location
Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center
Location within New York

The Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretative Center is a soon to be opened intermodal transit station in Niagara Falls, New York. It consists of a complex built around the historic U.S. Customhouse, originally built to service the U.S. side of the Niagara River border crossings from Canada. Completed in July 2016, the facility will replace Amtrak's Niagara Falls station for passenger rail service on December 6th, 2016 [2] and will also include U.S. Customs, bus service, and a museum.[3][4]

Customhouse history

Whirlpool Street (West) Elevation, View Taken From Southwest

To handle the large amount of goods exchanged over the border, the Lewiston customs house—the primary customs for the Niagara region—was relocated from Lewiston, NY to the Niagara Suspension Bridge in 1863.[5][Note 1] The customhouse served inspectors for the Niagara Falls Suspension Bridge, Niagara Cantilever Bridge, Whirlpool Rapids Bridge, and Michigan Central Railway Bridge at various points in its history. With Niagara Falls receiving the second highest amounts of American imports at one point, the customhouse was once a very busy post for its inspectors. In 1911 the building was partially destroyed by fire but later rebuilt. Remaining in a US Customs capacity until the 1960s, it was sold to several different commercial owners before it was originally abandoned in 1998.[8]

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, the building is now owned by the city of Niagara Falls who purchased it in 2003. State and local governments later incorporated the customhouse into plans to build a new multi-million dollar train station and intermodal transportation center called the Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretative Center. The customhouse was restored over a 5 year period and built into the station.

The current complex utilizes the original Custom House as part of the station as a facility for U.S. Customs and Border Protection which will be based out of the second floor upon the opening of the station along with modern additions. The first floor will contain a museum for the Underground Railroad called the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad interpretive Center in honor of the former original bridge close by that took slaves from the United States into Canada in the 19th Century. The museum is expected to open in 2017.

Amtrak station

Station under construction in 2015

After 30 years of effort to move Amtrak's Niagara Falls station to the Customhouse location, the building has become part of the Niagara Falls Station and Customhouse Interpretive Center in a three-phase rebuilding project estimated to cost $44 million.[9] Construction on the project began in August 2010 and in October 2010, the US Department of Transportation released $16.5 million in funds from the TIGER program for work on the final phase of the International Station project.[10] Once opened, the new station will replace the current Niagara Falls Amtrak station and will also house U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities as the station will be a point of entry for travelers on the Amtrak Maple Leaf.

A construction contract was agreed upon between the City of Niagara Falls and a local construction firm in April 2014 after delay over price overruns. Work began in May, 2014.[11] City officials said the construction would take 18 months to two years to complete. The project was completed in three phases including the stabilization of the existing building and upgrades to the nearby bridge. The station was completed in July, 2016 although Amtrak service moving to the facility was delayed due to contract talks between the city and Amtrak. The completion of the station was celebrated with a sneak peek of it to the public which was called “Niagara Falls Amtrak Community Day” on July 30, 2016.[12]

After a delay in a contract agreement between the city and Amtrak a 20 year lease was signed on November 9, 2016.[13] It is planned for Amtrak to move into the station on December 6th, 2016.

Like the customhouse, the train station has two floors, with the main concourse on the first and passengers boarding the trains on the second. Shops will also be included in the train station section of the complex. The lawn in front of the custom house may be turned into more of a theater and interpretive area.

It is hoped that the new station and its closer location to the downtown area of the city will help spur public and private sector growth in the city.[14]

Future service

Amtrak

The station will be served by six trains daily:

Buses

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Niagara customs house was added to the list of National Register of Historic Places in 1973;[6] thirty-five years later, renovation was started to transform the building into a railway station and history museum for the region.[7]

References

External links

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