The restored depot at Depot Square has long wooden benches like the ones passengers once sat on, a potbelly stove, a working bathroom and a 37-star flag. That was the count when the station went up in 1871, when Ulysses S. Grant was president and Nebraska was the newest state. Two easels hold historical photos and short histories by Kristin Beuscher. One of them is titled "And the next station stop is Park Ridge."
More than 100 people came to the ribbon cutting on Oct. 20, Pascack Press reported. Mayor Keith Misciagna told the paper that "the heart of Park Ridge is beating again." He also asked residents to come in and see the building and its history for themselves.
The building has a pattern. It has been built once and saved twice, and each time residents supplied the money or the labor. After this month's vote, that same arrangement is about to extend to a house from the 1750s.
1871: The town paid for its own train stop
The depot was not a railroad gift. The Hackensack & New York Extension Railroad Company told Park Ridge its morning express trains would stop in town only if the town built a depot, according to the history on display inside. Residents raised the money. The station was finished in October 1871 in the Railroad Gothic style, with board-and-batten siding and a balloon roof.
The station also moved the center of town. It stood where the railroad crossed the old road to Tappan, now Park Avenue. The display says the town's activity then shifted to Hawthorne and Park avenues, and that crossing became Depot Square.
Architect and planner William J. Martin described the same thing happening up and down the line. Emerson, Westwood, Hillsdale, Woodcliff Lake, Park Ridge and Montvale grew from rural crossroads into commuter towns, and their depots became "the civic anchors around which commercial districts formed," he told Pascack Press. In his view, Park Ridge stands out because residents built theirs to win the stop.
1981 to 1986: Volunteers lifted the building
By the mid-1970s the station was in such bad shape it was declared unfit for occupancy. Misciagna said it came close to being demolished. A restoration effort started in 1981, led by George Peed and his wife, Penny, with a group of volunteers.
Former Mayor David Grubb, who served from 1984 to 1988, described the work in Pascack Press's coverage:
"The building was literally falling down. It never had a foundation. ... That's the reason we still have the building."
The volunteers raised the building, poured a real foundation under it and set it back down. To match the paint, they scraped down to the original 1871 layer and had Benjamin Moore mix a batch in that color. The station was rededicated on Oct. 11, 1986. Grubb said the town spent no tax money on that rescue except the cost of a site plan. Today the depot is painted mint green with hunter green trim and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 1871 depot was built with money residents raised, and the 1980s rescue ran on volunteer labor. The third save was paid for differently, but the money still traces back to residents.
2026: What about $900,000 bought, and who paid
This year's work gave the depot a new cupola, a new slate roof close to the original, all-new copper flashing and woodwork that matches the 1870s. Borough Clerk Maggie Giandomenico gave Pascack Press this cost breakdown.
| Cost or funding source | Amount |
|---|---|
| Restoration work | $680,000 |
| Required change order | about $100,000 |
| Historical architect's services | $125,000 |
| County Open Space Trust Fund matching grant | $412,000 |
| Park Ridge Open Space Trust Fund match | a similar amount |
| State "transit village" grant | $147,000 |
The county money was a matching grant. It came only because Park Ridge had its own Open Space money to put up next to it. Giandomenico said the borough might not have qualified for the county funds without that local match. In other words, the local fund opened the door to the larger county grant.
The Nov. 3 vote kept the matching money in place
That local fund was on the ballot this month. The question asked whether Park Ridge should continue its Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund. The fund is paid for by a levy of up to 0.007 per $100 of assessed value. It can be spent on water quality, natural areas, recreation and conservation, and historic properties, based on recommendations from a citizens committee and subject to an annual audit.
Pascack Press explained that the rate works out to seven-tenths of a cent per $100. On the borough's average assessment of $475,614, that comes to $33.29 a year. Earlier versions of the fund had to be renewed by voters every five years. This one has no end date, though the mayor said the council could repeal the tax without another referendum.
The question passed by nearly seven to one, according to the Bergen County Clerk's unofficial results updated Nov. 5.
The same fund has paid for more than the depot. Giandomenico listed improvements at Memorial Park, the North Fifth Street acquisition, improvements at Davies Field and the Sulak Lane basketball court among the projects it supported. This post is general information about a local ballot measure and isn't tax or financial advice. If you want to know how the levy affects your own bill, check with the borough or your tax professional.
The Wortendyke Homestead is the next building in line
At the depot reopening, Misciagna said he hopes to begin restoring the Frederick Wortendyke Homestead at 12 Pascack Road soon. The house dates to the 1750s, and the borough bought it in late 2024 for $580,000.
The funding is coming together the same way it did for the depot. Park Ridge asked the county for $330,000. The Bergen County Historic Preservation Advisory Board recommended $175,000 for the "Wortendyke House Preservation Plan & Restoration," Pascack Press reported on Oct. 12. That recommendation is not a final grant. County elected officials make the awards.
The mayor said restoration will probably start in spring 2027, according to Pascack Press. One long-term idea is a learning museum and a place for history events. For now, the paper describes public use as a possibility that depends on how the preservation work goes.
Martin, the architect, puts the depot and the Wortendyke House in the same local tradition, along with the borough's early stone farmsteads. "The borough has repeatedly chosen to preserve its historic fabric rather than replace it," he told Pascack Press.
Dec. 6 is the restored square's first big night
The depot's first big public event since reopening is the borough's Annual Tree Lighting, which Park Ridge Recreation is holding at Depot Square by the train station. Here are the details from the borough calendar:
- When: Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, at 5 p.m., with a rain date of Saturday, Dec. 12
- What's planned: Frosty and Friends, music by the PRHS band, and hot chocolate
- For kids: a free raffle ticket for a chance to light Frosty and the tree, plus a prize
- Treats: cookies from Ilfreno Espresso Bar, popcorn from Vozza Agency and cotton candy from Curbside Confections
- Bring: a non-perishable food item for the food pantry
- Questions: call (201) 573-1800, ext. 521
The tree will be lit at the same crossing of Park and Hawthorne where the town's center took shape in 1871, right next to the building residents paid to put there.
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