The restoration of Wilkinsburg’s 106-year-old downtown train station has brought recognition to the Wilkinsburg Community Development Corp.

This week, the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office announced that the Wilkinsburg CDC has received a 2021 Community Initiative Award. The organization is one of only three recipients statewide. It will be awarded a plaque and a time capsule.

Built in 1916 as a station for the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Beaux Arts building was designed by architect Walter H. Cookson.

It closed in the mid-1970s as passenger rail service declined. The station remained vacant and significantly deteriorated in the nearly half century since.

But in 2015, the Wilkinsburg CDC, led by Executive Director Tracey Evans, embarked on an ambitious project to save the station and return it to its original beauty. Historic elements such as Italian marble was preserved in some areas of the building and replaced in others. Construction began in 2017.

“Every piece of marble was taken off the walls of the building,” Evans said. “Some was salvageable and just cleaned and polished, but a lot had to be replaced. We got marble from Italy from the original quarries and then it had to be shipped. The marble alone took about a year.”

Evans said the project, which cost $6.5 million, was important to a lot of people in Wilkinsburg.

“This was a grand, luxurious train station and so many people wrote to us and donated to the project,” she said. “We had donors who were from almost every state in the country. So many people wanted to be a part of this.”

Anne Elise Morris, president of the Wilkinsburg Historical Society, helped raise money for the train station.

“This was an iconic building. It was the center of town,” Morris said. “For over 50 years it was the hub of Wilkinsburg. So, people had an emotional attachment to it. Everybody cared about that building. To see something like this that was in such bad shape get beautifully restored, tells people that Wilkinsburg is on the upswing.”

The trains no longer run through Wilkinsburg, so now the question is: What will the building be used for?

“We’re in the process of seeking tenants,” said Evans. “We think it would be ideal for a restaurant.”

In the meantime, the train station will host a series of free community gatherings this summer featuring local artists and organizations.

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