Building Description Pennsylvania Railroad Station, Johnstown Pennsylvania
The station is composed of two rectangular buildings, the passenger area and the baggage room, set perpendicular to each other. The main structure is 90' x 98' x 50'. The partial basement has an area of 1,000 square feet, the ground floor comprises 9,000 square feet, and the second floor (office space) is 3,500 square feet. The single-story baggage wing is 97' x 50', with an area of 2,300 square feet.
All exterior walls are tapestry brick, with sandstone columns, pilasters, and rondels; a sandstone stringcourse; a sandstone cornice; and terra cotta keystones. The base of the building is sheathed in granite.
The south facade (facing Walnut Street) is divided into three bays, with the central portico in antis serving as the pedestrian entrance vestibule. The terminating bays on this facade project slightly and feature two-story brick arches.
On the east facade, the central bay serves as the entrance from the parking lot into the waiting room. The center of this facade is composed of five recessed bays articulated by half-round columns. Again, the terminating bays project slightly. The longitudinal span of the vault tops this elevation.
The six metal doors in the Walnut Street entry bay contain vertical glazing. Directly above each pair of doors is an ornamental nine-light window with decorative metalwork. Each of the terminating, projecting bays on this facade features a two-story Palladian window enclosed within a brick arch. The bottom part of the window on the westernmost bay is composed of three metal doors similar to those in the entrance bay.
The parking lot facade features thirteen (seven on the second story, six with a central door on the ground level) doublehung, eight-over-eight-light metal-encased windows. The bottom window in each of the terminating bays is topped by a sandstone pediment with terra cotta brackets. The two metal doors in the central bay have vertical glazing.
The south wall of the vault features a multi-light, semicircular window; each light is covered with decorative metalwork. The three arched windows on the longitudinal span of the vault topping the eastern elevation are also encased in metal.
The main two-story mass of the station has a flat parapet roof; a clock is built into the eastern side of the roof. The line of the vault's gable facade is emphasized by a sandstone blocking course.
An entrance vestibule leads from the parking lot into the central waiting room; three doors lead from the Walnut Street portico in antis into the waiting room. Other doorways lead from the central waiting room to service areas, restrooms, newsstand, smoking room, passenger platform, and baggage areas. The original doors have been removed.
The central Guastavino vault provides the drama in the waiting room. Marble Doric pilasters articulate the interior walls, which have marble wainscoting. Terra cotta rondels highlight the entablature, one atop each pilaster.
