National Register of Historic Places

Newark Passenger Station

Newark, New Castle County, Delaware
Listed
May 6, 1982
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
82002346

About this property

Newark station, also known as Thomas R. Carper Station, is a train station in Newark, Delaware, on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, serving a limited number of Amtrak Northeast Regional trains and SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line regional rail trains. The Newark station is the southern terminus of weekday service for SEPTA's Wilmington/Newark Line; it does not serve the station on weekends or holidays. Like all stations in Delaware, SEPTA service is provided under contract and funded through DART First State. Amtrak Northeast Regional service at Newark station is limited; the station sees one train in each direction on weekdays, an additional northbound train on Thursdays and Fridays and an additional southbound train on Fridays, and three trains in each direction on weekends. The station is located at Mopar Drive and South College Avenue, and travelers arriving at the station must walk a few blocks north along South College Avenue to reach the University of Delaware or the businesses centered on Main Street. A 380 space parking lot exists, mostly serving park and ride passengers bound for Wilmington, Delaware, or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The James F. Hall Trail also runs along the north side of the tracks. The original station building, originally constructed by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad in 1877, is adjacent to the southbound platform, and at one time also had connecting branches to Pomeroy, Pennsylvania and Delaware City, Delaware. It is now home to the Newark Historical Society, but does not function as a train station. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since May 7, 1982. The station is built on a "T" plan with a hipped cross-gable roof and Victorian detailing such as ornamental brackets and sawtooth brickwork. In 1986, Newark's city council authorized an application for a state of Delaware Bicentennial Improvement Fund grant for the acquisition and redevelopment of the Newark station, and on March 27, 1987, Amtrak deeded the station building to the city. By September, the city had hired John Milner Associates of West Chester, Pa., to develop architectural specifications for restoration. Restoration work encompassed the first floor ticket booths, the ladies' and men's waiting rooms, modernized upstairs offices, and rebuilt canopies on the exterior. SEPTA service was extended to Newark in 1997. In 2012 a new federal grant was awarded to upgrade the station into a multi-modal hub. This includes new platform, eliminating grade crossings, upgrades to the adjacent rail yard and new ticketing machines. Track upgrades to increase capacity between Newark and Wilmington rebuilt and reconfigured interlockings and added a third track to 1.5 miles of the line. Construction on these track upgrades was completed in 2020.

Location

Newark, New Castle County, Delaware
39.67035, -75.75261

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTCOMMERCETRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Wilson, Edward R., House
Industrial
0.1 mi
Deer Park Farm
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0.4 mi
Anderson House
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0.4 mi
Chambers House
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0.6 mi
Wright House
Industrial
0.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Battle of Cooch's Bridge (Delaware, 1777)
1777Revolutionary War
0.9 mi
Battle of Cooch's Bridge (Delaware)
1777Revolutionary War
1.7 mi
Battle of Iron Hill
1777Revolutionary War
1.7 mi
Battle of Iron Hill (Cooch's Bridge approach)
1777Revolutionary War
2 mi
Battle of Cooch's Bridge
1777Revolutionary War
2.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Newark Passenger Station listed on the National Register?

Newark Passenger Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 6, 1982.

What type of historic resource is Newark Passenger Station?

Newark Passenger Station is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Newark Passenger Station?

The period of significance for Newark Passenger Station is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Newark Passenger Station?

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