The Lambertville City Council honored the owners of the restaurant for their contributions to the city.
By Linda Seida, Staff Writer
LAMBERTVILLE — The City Council recently honored Lambertville Station owner Dan Whitaker and his partners for reaching their 25th anniversary.
Mr. Whitaker and partners Rose DiMarco, Michael Dougherty and Skip DiMarco purchased the property in 1982. When they began conversion of the station, they remained true to the history of the building.
The Lambertville Station on Bridge Street was designed by Philadelphia-born architect Thomas Ustick Walter, who also designed extensions to the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., and its fireproof, cast-iron dome.
When the two-and-a-half-story stone building was completed in 1867, it was the headquarters of the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad. Passenger lines ran from Belvidere to Trenton. In the late 1800s, the Pennsylvania Railroad took over and began running trains to New England.
The Station’s owners spent 14 months renovating the structure. The exterior was totally restored.
They constructed a 40-room inn using modern technology, “creating a historic appearance to maintain the character of the center of the city,” according to the resolution passed by the council on Nov. 5.
”They played a significant role in the revitalization of the city,” Mayor David Del Vecchio said.
”I always think of the Station as the beginning of the renewal of Lambertville,” Councilwoman Cynthia Ege said.
Lambertville had once been the home of many prosperous factories. But by 1965, with many of the factories shuttered, the city already had embarked on a long, downward slide. It was bad enough it was chosen that year as the place where Lady Bird Johnson, the first lady, would kick-start the president’s War on Poverty program.
Mr. Whitaker thanked city officials for all the support he and his partners received when they opened the Lambertville Station.
”It was a great town,” he said. “And we were very lucky to be in the right place at the right time.”
Mayor Del Vecchio said the Station “epitomized what a corporate partner should be in the city.”
He later explained, saying Mr. Whitaker and his partners have always readily contributed to charitable causes.
”Thanks for all your hard work and all your work on the Chamber of Commerce,” council President Steven Stegman told Mr. Whitaker. “You were just as involved then as you are now.”
”It’s been fun working with the city,” Mr. Whitaker said. “All these years, you’ve been a great partner.”