JAMAICA STATION 100 YEAR
ANNIVERSARY
OUR VIEW
By: C. Harrison/Dec 4, 2013
The Jamaica station and the Long Island railroad celebrated its 100 year anniversary Wednesday, October 23, 2013. This MTA, hub is used by 150.000 commuters each day, according to an official immediate media release. MTA officials celebrated the historic rededication transfer point for 10 of the LIRR’s 11 branches. On hand for the festivities were MTA Chairman and CEO Thomas F. Prendergast and MTA Long Island Rail Road President Helena E. Williams, as well as local officials and community leaders.
Oyster Bay High School kicked off the festivities by performing “Change at Jamaica,” a 10 minute instrumental piece by Pulitzer Prize Winner Composer Paul Moravec of Adelphi University.
The important role of the Jamaica Station, memorialized in railroad lexicon by the catch phrase “Change at Jamaica” has made commuting between Long Island and New York City possible for generations of Long Island Rail road customers. The station opened for business in 1913 as was part of newly elevated right-of way in Jamaica that did away with street level grade crossings for the first time.
Jamaica Station was designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison and built by the Pennsylvania Railroad, then the parent company of the Long Island Rail Road. The entire Jamaica complex was constructed by LIRR employees under the direction of railroad’s Chief Engineer John Savage. That same year, the LIRR moved into a new corporate office adjacent in the newly elevated station, platforms and tracks. The five-story brick building including the station waiting area, also designed by Murchison, was situated at the corner of Archer Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard, a dirt road intersection in an area still dotted with farms. In addition, Murchison designed the LIRR’s ticket office and waiting area on Sutphin Boulevard as the public entrance to the building, gliding it with an omate canopy that received special attention during the restoration. He placed the corporate entrance on Archer Avenue with “Long Island R. R. Co.” in bronze letters across the top.
All photos: C. Harrison
The land mark is amongst the best in the borough of Queens and the building is the oldest railroad in the U. S. still operating under its original name. Each week day the LIRR operates 732 trains with approximately 3000,000 customers traveling through Jamaica twice a day. AirTrain JFK service draws an additional 11, 500 customers per day who arrive by train, subway, bus and taxi.
For much of the year, LIRR headquarters was veiled in scaffolding and steel grey safety netting as the LIRR Engineering Department employees and a privat contractor, Alps Mechanical Inc, labored on building elements that had seriously deteriorated over the years. The restoration effort was carried out in an effort to be consistent with the historic character of the building under the direction of the LIRR’s Department of program management.
Moreover, the release stated that in coming years, the MTA and LIRR are planning more than $300 million in infrastructure improvements as part of the first phase of the Jamaica Capacity improvement Project. Phase 1. encompasses design and construction in support of East Side Access, the new path to Manhattan that will bring LIRR customers to Grand Central Terminal and East Midtown for the first time. The work includes the construction of a new platform specifically dedicated to scoot service between Jamaica and Atlantic Terminal, Brooklyn, the removal and installation of switches, realignment of track, reconfiguration of the Johnson Avenue Train Yard; construction of a freight train and modification to the existing signal system.
Both the Long Island Railroad and the Jamaica Station is a part of the recognized historic featured stop on the Jamaica walking tour guide published by the Greater Jamaica Development Corporation.
