{{Use American English|date=February 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}} {{Infobox NRHP | name = Grand Trunk railroad station | nrhp_type = | image =Lewiston Maine depot postcard.jpg | caption = 1912 postcard showing the station | location = 103 Lincoln St., [[Lewiston, Maine]] | coordinates = {{coord|44|5|37|N|70|13|12|W|display=inline,title}} | locmapin = Maine#USA | area = | built = {{start date|1874}} | architect = | architecture = | added = June 4, 1979 | refnum = 79000127 <ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref> }}
The '''Grand Trunk station''' is a historic [[railroad station]] at 103 Lincoln Street in [[Lewiston, Maine]]. It was built in 1874 for a spur line connecting Lewiston and [[Auburn, Maine|Auburn]] to the [[Grand Trunk Railway]], to which it was leased. It is through this station that many of the area's French Canadian immigrants arrived to work in the area mills. The station was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1979.<ref name="nris"/>
==Description and history== Lewiston's Grand Trunk station stands in its mill district, at the northwest corner of Lincoln and Beech Streets. It is a rectangular single-story brick building, with a gabled roof. The roof has extended eaves supported by large brackets, and there are finial turrets near its gable ends. Windows and doorways are set in segmented-arch openings, with granite sills. The end facing Lincoln Street is adorned with remnants of painting identifying the Grand Trunk Railway.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url={{NRHP url|79000127}}|title=NRHP nomination for Grand Trunk Station|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2016-05-16}}</ref>
The station was built in 1874 by the [[Lewiston and Auburn Railroad|Lewiston and Auburn Railroad Company]] and leased to the [[Grand Trunk Railway]], connecting Lewiston with the [[Canadian National Railway]].<ref name=WhatIsLARC>{{cite news|last=Skelton|first=Kathryn|title=What is the Lewiston and Auburn Railroad Co.?|url=http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/890183|accessdate=2 December 2012|newspaper=Sun Journal|date=8 August 2010}}</ref> Many French-Canadian immigrants arrived in the Lewiston-Auburn area via the station, leading the building to be known as the "[[Ellis Island]]" of Lewiston.<ref name=Michaud>{{cite web|title=MICHAUD PRAISES $200,000 INVESTMENT IN LEWISTON-AUBURN RAILROAD COMPANY |url=http://michaud.house.gov/press-release/michaud-praises-200000-investment-lewiston-auburn-railroad-company |publisher=Website of Congressman Mike Michaud |accessdate=2 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121111080047/https://michaud.house.gov/press-release/michaud-praises-200000-investment-lewiston-auburn-railroad-company |archivedate=11 November 2012 }}</ref> After rail service to the station stopped, it lay abandoned for decades, and various uses for the building were proposed.<ref name=Skelton2>{{cite news|last=Skelton|first=Kathryn|title=The future of Lewiston's 'Ellis Island' may be decided Wednesday after 30 years of vacancy|url=http://www.sunjournal.com/city/story/890046|accessdate=2 December 2012|newspaper=Sun Journal|date=8 August 2012}}</ref> In 2010, the Lewiston and Auburn Railroad Company was awarded a [[Recovery Act]] grant by the [[United States Department of Agriculture]] (USDA) to renovate Grand Trunk Railroad Station.<ref name=Michaud /> Although the building presently houses a restaurant, proposals are being developed to reintroduce service on the line, connecting Lewiston and [[Auburn/Lewiston Municipal Airport]].
== See also == * [[Grand Trunk railway stations (disambiguation)]] for other stations affiliated with the [[Grand Trunk Railway]] and subsidiaries * [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Androscoggin County, Maine]]
{{Adjacent stations|system=Canadian National Railway|line=Lewiston Branch|left=Auburn}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{NRHP in Androscoggin County, Maine}} {{Androscoggin County, Maine}}
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lewiston, Maine]] [[Category:Grand Trunk Railway stations in New England|Lewiston, Maine]] [[Category:Railway stations in the United States opened in 1874]] [[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Lewiston, Maine]] [[Category:Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Maine]] [[Category:Victorian architecture in Maine]] [[Category:Transportation buildings and structures in Androscoggin County, Maine]] [[Category:Former railway stations in Maine]]