Falmouth Station Masonry Restoration
Location: 59 Depot Avenue, Falmouth, MA 02540
Applicant: Falmouth Economic Development Industrial Corporation (EDIC)
Allocation: $248,136
Year/Article: April 2022, A31
In April 2022, Town Meeting approved $248,136 requested by the Falmouth Economic Development Industrial Corporation (EDIC) to make exterior masonry improvements to the historic Falmouth Station. CP Funds will be used to eliminate water infiltration into the building by: (1) removing and replacing deteriorated bricks on exterior walls; (2) repointing exterior brick walls; and (3) waterproofing the building, as allowed, and the sidewalk juncture. The work will comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties as required by the Community Preservation Act.
Falmouth Station is listed on the State Register of Historic Buildings and is on the Falmouth Historical Commission’s List of Significant Buildings being noted as a Classical Revival-style. Falmouth Station was built in 1912 by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. The Station is the historical transportation hub of Falmouth, formerly the site of rail service to and from New York and Boston, and currently the site for intercity bus service to Boston and Providence, as well as regional and local bus service provided by the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority. In addition to the bus service, Falmouth Station has a food venue that serves bus customers, travelers along the Shining Sea Bike path, and walk-in customers. The Station also displays the artwork of local artists and historical information about the facility. It is also a gathering spot for many community groups.
Since 2015, Falmouth Station has been operated, managed, and maintained by the Falmouth EDIC under a 99-year lease with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (Mass DOT). The building was in dilapidated condition, but the EDIC secured a $1.4 million grant from Mass DOT and undertook a restoration of the Station that included replacement of the roof, windows, and doors, many of the façade elements, as well as interior renovations. Budgetary constraints allowed only limited work to the exterior brick walls and surrounding concrete walkways. The CP funds for the project will address this remaining portion of the restoration work on the historic and architecturally significant Station.