Berea Union Depot

The Berea Union Depot is a train station in Berea, Ohio, United States, which was built in 1876.[2] As the railroad facilities through town grew, there was a demand in the early 1870s by developers and townspeople for a new passenger and freight station. When it was dedicated on May 3, 1876, The Plain Dealer called it "the finest facility outside the big cities."[3] As a union station, it served the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway, both of which became part of New York Central Railroad. It ceased to serve as a railway depot in 1954. In 1980, the building was restored as a restaurant and gathering place.[4]

Berea
General information
Location	30 Depot Street Berea, Ohio 44017
Coordinates	41.3810°N 81.8545°W / 41.3810; -81.8545
Operated by	Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis Railway (1876 – 1889) Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway (1876 – 1914) Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway (1889 – 1930) New York Central (1914 – 1954)
Tracks	5 (current)
Other information
Website	https://www.bereadepot.com
History
Opened	1876
Closed	1954
Former services
Preceding station New York Central Railroad Following station Olmsted Falls toward Chicago Main Line Linndale toward New York Terminus Old Main Line West Park toward Nottingham Galion toward St. Louis Big Four Route Main Line Linndale toward Cleveland West View toward St. Louis West View toward Cincinnati Cincinnati – Cleveland
Berea Union Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	30 Depot St., Berea, Ohio
Coordinates	41°22′52″N 81°51′16″W
Area	less than one acre
Built	1876
Architectural style	Gothic
NRHP reference No.	80002976[1]
Added to NRHP	November 21, 1980

Built of sandstone with elements of slate,[5] the depot is a Gothic Revival structure with Victorian-influenced components. Both the sandstone and the styling are uncommon in northeastern Ohio, where masonry depots were typically brick, and where wooden stations outnumbered masonry.[2]

Critical to the station's establishment was Berea's stone-based economy; in the late nineteenth century, the city's sandstone quarries were the world's largest, and a typical day in the 1880s saw eighteen trains at the station.[2] One century later, the depot was named a historic site: it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in November 1980, qualifying because of its place in local history and because of its historically significant architecture.[1]

Platform sign originally from Cleveland Union Terminal