A CNJ survivor in... Allentown, PA!Built between 1888 and 1889, this station was constructed jointly by the Central Railroad of New Jersey and the Reading. The Reading shared trackage rights with the CNJ, which itself had gained access to Allentown via the Lehigh and Susquehanna which was leased to the Central Railroad of New Jersey. The Lehigh Valley also had a station one block to the west (seen here), built atop the Jordan Creek.
Allentown by the late 1800's had become a destination for immigrants who found work in one of Allentown's textile mills and factories. Both stations provided passenger rail service for decades to Scranton, Reading, Harrisburg, New York City, Philadelphia and other points along the nation's inter-city rail network. Major named trains included the Queen of the Valley (CNJ/Reading, Jersey City–Harrisburg), Interstate Express (Reading/Lackawanna, Syracuse–Philadelphia), Scranton Flyer/Philadelphia Flyer (Reading, Philadelphia–Scranton).
Due to declining passenger traffic, in part due to the nation's new Interstate Highway network, the Lehigh Valley ended service on February 4th, 1961, while the Reading and CNJ kept at it until 1967. Both stations became derelict and LV station was demolished in 1972 with the widening of the Hamilton Street Bridge over Jordan Creek. Today, only the rusting steel beams extending over the Creek remain. The CNJ station remained derelict until 1980, when the property was restored as a restaurant. The renovated property went through several owners (Depot Restaurant, Gingerbread Man, B&G Station, Jillian's Billiard Cafe) over the next two decades, lastly being called Banana Joe's which opened on Labor Day 2001. The property closed in September 2007 after a drop-off in patrons. It has remained closed and vacant since then, slowly deteriorating.
