“Through the persistent efforts of District Passenger Agent Paul S. Millspaugh, of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, that company will spend $150,000 improving the station and train yards in the western part of the city. This announcement was made today by Mr. Millspaugh, who said:
‘It means a tremendous outlay and a great improvement. It has been my dream for years that our station here should be in keeping with the splendid scenery which greets the gaze of the tourist when he is being brought down South Hill into the city.
‘We operate six through trains a day besides the locals, carrying passengers from over all the world. They come down the hill and see the University, Cayuga Lake and city, a panoramic view that cannot be surpassed. The contrast when they arrive at the lower station with the present unsightly surroundings takes the charm from their first impression of Ithaca.
‘The space around the present station will be converted into a handsome park with nice drives and flower-beds. The plans call for the erection of a modern station, although the present structure will not be moved but will be utilized….
‘To secure all this has been accomplished after years of effort. I have never lost an opportunity to present these needs to the management of the road. This is not a railroad move but an Ithaca move absolutely. It will mean much toward beautifying the western section of the city.’
Besides the improvements at the station, the Lehigh will make extensive changes in the yards to afford more train room and other traffic facilities. The company has secured almost all of the property on Brindley street at exorbitant prices and this additional land will be utilized in enlarging the yards.
The street is to be moved further west and the Sandy Patten Hotel and other buildings on the thoroughfare are to be torn down. The plans for the improvements are nearing completion and it is asserted that work will be under way very soon.
The proposed improvements call for the abolishing of the Auburn and Ithaca trains backing out on a round-about track. Under the new plans, the trains will go straight out, crossing the Inlet. This will mean the saving of much time and labor. When the Lehigh gave the city the right of way in the Inlet section near the coal docks it was with the provision that the company was to reserve a strip which would be sufficient to construct a bridge across the Inlet at any time.
The Lehigh, therefore, intends to exercise this right and erect such a span for the accommodation of the A. & I trains. Subways are to be constructed so that trains on the Auburn division, coming and going, will be able to pass each other.”
“Lehigh’s Ithaca Station To Be Greatly Enlarged,” Ithaca Daily Journal, September 23, 1912,