But speaking of the station changing hands, it's happened at least twelve times since 1858 when it was built. And almost every time it has been given a new coat of paint to go with its new ownership. Since it's something I get asked about a lot at the station, I figured it may be interesting to write about the history of the colors of the station.
Light gray and chocolate brown were the original colors of the station and were still there when Lincoln arrived in 1863. The gray was painted over the brick and the chocolate brown was used on the trim and doors. The models built by Bill Aldrich show the station with these colors and we have a small area of a wall over the archway leading out to the original platform painted in this way.
This green is called "railroad green" and is located in the office area (in the 1886 addition). It was apparently used pretty frequently in stations in the 1880s or so.
Meanwhile, this interesting salmon color adorns the rest of the second room. So we have a railroad green and salmon second room. I don't believe this is a historically accurate color. What Bob Alcorn told me when I asked was that the salmon was a "compromise," something they just thought would "look good with the green." It's a color that I personally like, but I never thought I'd see it on a wall.
The color of the outside of the building, this is another color that is not historically accurate. I've been told that this was an "accident," that it was intended to be the same color as the Reading Station (a sort of cream color) but something went awry. I have trouble believing this because... if you started painting a building and realized that what was supposed to be cream was actually bright golden yellow, I'm pretty sure you'd notice and stop the painting. But who knows. The trim is currently a dark green and a maroon color. Even if not accurate, it makes the building stand out. And it's a lot easier to say "the bright yellow building" while explaining where I volunteer.
