Ho-Ho-Kus Stone Fort Train Station

Photos by jlechner201

I had never heard the Ho-Ho-Kus Train Station called a "Stone Fort" until I googled a picture of it today. It does look like a stone fort now that I think about.

My Dad, along with many others, did the commute to New York City from this station. I don't know how he did it for 17 years but those were different times and a different generation's way of doing things. I'm sure the current group of commuters from Ho-Ho-Kus have the same things in mind: college tuition, retirement, and a bit of money to hand down to the next generation.

I rode this train into Hoboken many times myself. Now the ride has a new stop in Secaucus which allows for a transfer to a train which goes to mid-town Manhattan. My favorite part of this trip is the Water Taxi, which is an alternative to the Path Trains under the Hudson. It is akin to the Ferrys which were used as early as 1775 to move people from Hoboken to New York, only now it is quite a bit faster and much less dangerous. Here is an undated photo of what is described as "The Old Hoboken Terminal"















Here is a shot of the restored Hoboken Terminal Waiting Room


This is a bit of history courtesy of Wikipedia:

"Designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison in the Beaux-Arts style, the rail and ferry terminal buildings were constructed in 1907 as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. The terminal building is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places (added in 1973 as #73001102 as the Erie-Lackawanna Railroad and Ferry Terminal). It has been undergoing extensive renovations which are projected for completion in 2011.

The large main waiting room, with its floral and Greek Revival motifs in tiled stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany set atop bands of pale cement, is generally considered one of the finest in the U.S. aesthetically. The terminal exterior extends to over four stories and has a distinguished copper-clad façade with ornate detailing. Its single-story base is constructed of rusticated Indiana limestone. A grand double stair with decorative cast-iron railings within the main waiting room provides an entrance to the upper-level ferry concourse.

A 225-foot (69 m) clock tower was originally built with the terminal over a century ago, but was dismantled in the early 1950s due to structural damage and deterioration from weather damage. A new clock tower, replicating the original, was constructed during the terminal's centennial year of 2007 and was fully erect that November. The replica tower has four foot high copper letters spelling out "LACKAWANNA", which are lit at night."