A fence still blocks the south section of the platform at Albany Station, making it a challenge to get a photo of the beige shed that has sprung up there.
Someone was wondering about the little metal shed that has just appeared next to the new platform at Albany Station. And no, it’s not the outside restroom that the City of Albany once wanted to build but then postponed.
The southern 700 feet of the 1,200-foot platform at the historic Albany train depot has been under construction since September 2022. Except for one short section it looks complete, but public access to it is still barred with a chainlink fence and barricades.
I got an email asking about the little building from someone who thought it seemed out of place at the historic station. On Tuesday the bike took me to the station for a look just as Amtrak’s Train 14, the northbound Coast Starlight, was leaving.
I asked the station agent about that new building on the platform. She told me it will be used to store a wheelchair lift.
This goes along with the rest of the platform project, the point of which is to make the station comply with standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
TSE Construction, based in Jefferson and owned by Pat Ryan of Albany, has the platform construction contract.
When the southern section is finished and opened to use, which should be soon, work will start on the northern part. My efforts to learn the cost of this project have been fruitless, but Amtrak’s public affairs office in Oakland told me months ago the job will be completed in 2024. (hh)
Photograhing the new structure at Albany Station from the platform just as the Coast Starlight heads north on Tuesday.
When was the first train station constructed in Albany ? The Hackleman family donated the land to the city of Albany. The land claim was originally staked out in 1843.
Tacky Tacky. That really looks out of place with all the “older” appearing buildings. It seems that they could have done something else that would be more in line with the rest of the station buildings
Whoever is safeguarding the city’s historic and cultural heritage is asleep at the switch, so to speak.
This ugly building does not serve the welfare of Albany residents.
Using the language of historical preservation, here are some of the screw ups:
1. The building does not maintain a unifying developmental theme with the train depot.
2. The vents and siding materials are inappropriate and do not maintain the visual historic integrity of the location.
3. The building’s placement breaks the plane of the existing development pattern.
4. Solar panels would be an appropriate addition as long as their placement is hidden from public view on the nearby street.
The city needs to file a lawsuit to stop Amtrak from imposing this abomination on Albany residents.
Yay for a wheelchair lift!
I agree….that is, yay for the wheelchair lift. It is a clean, neat building and doesn’t have to represent the 19th century or early 20th in design and decor.