The Bennington Railroad Station is a historic former railroad depot at 150 Depot Street in downtown Bennington, Vermont. Built in 1897-98 by the Bennington and Rutland Railroad, it is the only Richardsonian Romanesque railroad station in the state of Vermont. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, and now houses a restaurant.Description and historyThe former Bennington Railroad Station stands just northwest of Bennington's downtown, at the southwest corner of Depot and River Streets. The building is oriented at an angle to the intersection, paralleling the former route of the tracks, which formed a triangle with the two roads. It is a basically rectangular single-story stone structure, with an apse at its southern end, and a projecting rectangular entry section (formerly a porte-cochere) on the longer easterly facade. Unused railroad tracks lie just to the west, and a modern addition extends to the south, providing additional restaurant seating capacity. The former agent's office projects on the track side of the building.Bennington's early railroad service was limited to the village of North Bennington, about 5mi north of the downtown. In 1854 a branch line was run from North Bennington to serve the town center, and a wood frame depot was erected by the Bennington and Rutland. In 1897, its depot in decline, the railroad commissioned local architect William C. Bull to design a replacement. The present building was completed the following year. Its design bears significant resemblance to the station designed by H.H. Richardson for Wellesley, Massachusetts (now demolished), and is the state's only instance of a Richardsonian railroad station.
