Tamaqua Railroad Station takes long road to forever stamp

Mar. 6—TAMAQUA — The simple beauty of its Italianate Victorian style led to the Tamaqua Railroad Station being included in a U.S. Postal Service commemorative stamp issue dedicated to historic railroad stations, a postal official said.

"In its humility, we found a sense of beauty that was unlike any other station," said Bill Gicker, U.S. Postal Service stamp services director.

Tamaqua is among five historic stations memorialized in a Forever Stamp Collection designed to honor the history and romance of train travel. All five stations are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Postal authorities will officially unveil the collection Thursday during a ceremony at Union Terminal in Cincinnati, which is included in the stamp issue.

An open house will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Tamaqua Railroad Station.

Being selected for such a prestigious honor was a surprise to Tamaqua officials.

Micah Gursky, Tamaqua Community Partnership executive director, said the borough did not submit an application to be included in the stamp issue.

"We found out about it when the Postal Service issued a press release in October," Gursky said.

Built by the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad in 1874, the Tamaqua station played a central role in the borough for about 75 years. With the rapid decline in rail passenger service after World War II, it fell into ruin, survived an arson attack and was on the verge of being demolished by 1990.

Due to the efforts of Tamaqua Save Our Station, formed in 1991, the station underwent a $1.5 million restoration and is currently home to a fine dining restaurant.

Beth Trexler, Tamaqua postmaster, believes the work of SOS and others played a huge role in the station being commemorated in a stamp.

"I think the restoration was key to it being picked," Trexler said. "It is great recognition for a small, tightly knit community."

How it happened

In 2020, USPS approached a Los Angeles-based design studio to develop a list of potential railroad stations to be included in a Forever Stamp series.

Down The Street Designs, based in the Highland Park section of Los Angeles, submitted sketches of 11 stations from across the country.

"We were thinking about geographic diversity and a spectrum of architecture," said artist Paul Zappia, co-owner of Down The Street Designs. "We chose the ones we thought were beautiful and pleasant."

Zappia and partner Remo Bangayan spent 2021 and 2022 refining the designs of five stations chosen by the USPS Citizens Advisory Stamp Committee.

In addition to Tamaqua, they are Point of Rocks Station in Maryland; Main Street Station in Richmond, Virginia; Santa Fe Station in San Bernardino, California; and Union Station in Cincinnati.

Harry Rinker, a member of the Citizens Advisory Stamp Committee, said the artists' renderings captured the spirit of an era when railroad stations reflected the importance of communities and the power and prestige of railroads.

Rinker, a Lehigh Valley native who wrote a syndicated column on antiques for 35 years, was "thrilled to death" that the Tamaqua station had been selected.

"Here was a station that was about to be torn down and, in the end, preservation won out," said Rinker, interviewed by phone from his Florida home. "It was a wonderful restoration program."

Ringer served on the advisory committee under three postmasters, including now-retired Megan Brennan, formerly of Pottsville.

A long road to glory

When the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad built the Italianate Victorian station in 1874, both the railroad and Tamaqua were on the upswing.

"The size, style and amenities of the new Tamaqua station reflected the importance of Tamaqua as a major railroad hub of the coal regions," according to a history by Tamaqua SOS.

The railroad excavated a hillside, and used the rock to create a flat area where the station was built.

The design of the red brick and brownstone structure featured a T-shaped floor plan with a two-story concourse with six chimneys and a flagpole on the roof.

It also had a ticket office, restrooms and a restaurant, a feature that few stations of the day offered passengers.

It would play a bit part in the legendary saga of the Molly Maguires, providing overnight accommodations to two Mollies hanged on June 21, 1877, known in legend as "Black Thursday" or "The Day of the Rope." The bodies arrived late and had to be stored overnight in coffins packed with ice.

In 1881, the P&R built Depot Square Park, a garden with chestnut trees and a water fountain, behind the station on the present site of Wells Fargo bank.

The railroad also built an ornate crew dispatch and telegraph office on the south side of the West Broad Street crossing.

From the 1920s to the 1940s, peak years for the railroad, more than 40 trains arrived and departed from the station daily for destinations that included Philadelphia, Atlantic City and Chicago.

During World War II, families gathered at the station as Tamaqua area soldiers departed on special troop trains.

Immediately after World War II, the station was part of a railroad giant with nearly 3,500 miles of track, some 590 locomotives and 20,000 employees.

But by 1950, with passenger service in decline, the station embarked on a downward trajectory. In 1961, passenger service was discontinued to Tamaqua and the station closed.

In 1981, after an arsonist set the building afire, it appeared that the station was on a demolition course.

Efforts by the Tamaqua Historical Society, Tamaqua Jaycees, the Tamaqua Community Partnership and Tamaqua SOS saved it from the wrecking ball.

Formed in 1991, Tamaqua SOS waged a 13-year, $1.5 million campaign that led to the restoration of the station, which was completed in August 2004.

Community spirit

Details of Thursday's open house at the Tamaqua station are unclear.

Community leaders and dignitaries are expected, including postmaster Trexler. At some point, there will be a champagne toast.

Melanie Ross, owner of the Tamaqua Station Restaurant, said the post office has granted SOS permission to sell commemorative postcards, coffee mugs and keychains with a photo of the station.

In a touching moment on Monday, Dan and Cindy Schroeder visited the station. Both played an integral part in the restoration.

Dan, a retired architect, developed the restoration plans. He is a former SOS president. Cindy is a former vice president.

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007