1974 Susquehanna RR sign dismantling

[BLeafe]

This was on page 2 of the main section of The Record today. The photo appears to have been taken from the eastern end of the RR bridge over River St by Mercer St and not at the station, as the last sentence states.



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[just watching]

That looks about right.

Does anyone remember what the building housed, east side of River Street between railroad and The Record.  If I remember, in 1974, it was called "The People's ......"  something.   What was that building, a florist, a bookstore, can't remember.  And when was it torn down ?

[Homer Jones]

If Ol' Homer's brain cells are still in working order, the last commercial use of the building between the tracks and the RECORD was a business selling books of shall we say "questionable moral value."  The store was closed down by Citry authorities and the material was confiscated. Rumor has it that after the premises was closed and the material confiscated, it disappeared, never to be seen again (officially that is.)

[just watching]

Hey, maybe one of our former mayors has a stash of that stuff in his attic.

[BLeafe]

If I remember, in 1974, it was called "The People's ......"  something.

Now that we know what type of place it was, does anyone wanna take a shot crack guess at what the rest of that name would be?

[irons35]

That building was the train station from the 1930's when the station at Main St ceased to be, until 1966 when passenger service shut down. you paid the ticket at street level then went up the stairs to the platform. the sign was over the station. 

[just watching]

That's interesting. Why was the train station moved away from Main Street ??   I am wondering if the logic was to have the train station next to the municipal bus terminal, which was once where the Record is located.  Or perhaps the trains stopping blocked traffic on Main and State Streets. 

It would be great to get an answer on this, because there are still dreams to reopen passenger service or light rail service on the Susie-Q.  Knowing the history is a good way to troubleshoot problems.