LOCKPORT, N.Y. — The New York Central Train Station in Lockport has sat empty for over 40 years, now one group hopes to bring this landmark back to its former glory starting this week.
Mark Davidson has undertaken the task of restoring Union Station.
The station was first built in 1889 by the Vanderbilt owned New York Central Railroad.
“I always had a passion for [trains], and when I rode them out of Medina and started seeing this building, it just started developing bigger and bigger,” Mark said.
The building once had Tiffany & Co. branded windows and was turned into a restaurant 50 years ago, after it no longer served trains.
However, this landmark suffered a major fire in the 70s and has been left abandoned and striped down to just bricks ever since.
Now, after over 40 years of sitting abandoned, years of Lockport’s history are slowly being brought back to life.
Mark bought the building in 2006.
He moved to Lockport after retiring from a behind the scenes career in Hollywood and has spared no expense on this project -- spending over $250,000 out of his own pocket.
For him, this project was too important to pass up.
“I saw the building back then, fell in love with it and just kept inquiring about that train station,” Mark said. “The building had people come through the doors that gave us freedoms today… Susan B. Anthony… Teddy Roosevelt.”
Mark’s dream is to have this building return to service and operate as a train station once again within the next five years.
“It needs to be brought back, and it’s a shame it’s in the state it is in now,” Mark said.
Mark shared that restoration on the site will begin later this week.
