Located at 6 Broad Street in the Village of Cambridge, the Delaware & Hudson Passenger Depot is the architectural jewel of the historic Cambridge Rail Yard.
Architecturally Splendid
Built in 1901, the D & H Passenger Depot proudly displays striking Victorian flourishes, including its cupola topping off the roof and wainscoted walls and ceilings. The approximately 1,700 SF single story has wood framing on the upper half of the building and a brick/mortar below. To the south, extending parallel to the railroad tracks is attached a slate roofed platform canopy (16’ x 25’) with wooden ceiling boards. Interior finishes include hardwood flooring and wainscoted walls and ceilings. Layout includes an original open station waiting area that features an 18’-20’ ceiling elevation and two chandelier fixtures; a Baggage area; and Station Master’s office and two restrooms.
Busy Passenger Station
Business travelers, tourists, farmers, doctors, school children, and occasional celebrities arrived or boarded one of the six passenger trains that stopped here each day. In its prime, the depot welcomed Mark Twain and Susan B. Anthony who spoke at Hubbard Hall; Louis Comfort Tiffany who designed the windows of the nearby St. Luke’s Church; 32,000 people who attended the 1907 Cambridge Fair; and generations of vacationers escaping the heat of cities like Albany, Troy and New York.
The depot became inactive as a passenger station in 1933 after passenger train service through Cambridge ended.
First Cambridge Passenger Depot
The current structure was the second passenger depot in Cambridge. The first one, a charming Gothic structure, was built in 1852, the year the railroad first came to Cambridge. It was moved to the corner of Pleasant Street and Myrtle Avenue where it still stands today as a private residence.