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Discover Lansdale hosts ribbon cutting, showcases historic space’s next chapter for events, community use
After years of planning, fundraising and restoration, Lansdale’s historic Freight House officially reopened to the public Saturday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house led by Discover Lansdale.
The event at the longtime rail-side building at Vine and Broad streets drew local officials and community leaders, including State Rep. Steve Malagari and State Sen. Maria Collett, along with Discover Lansdale representatives Bill Henning, Bruce Schwartz and Borough Councilwoman Mary Fuller, and, Rita's Water Ice for refreshments.
Fuller, who has helped champion the project, said the opening marked a major milestone after nearly a decade of work to transform the early 1900s freight station into a community space. The building, originally constructed in 1902 as a hub for local industry, had sat vacant for decades before efforts began to preserve and repurpose it.
Visitors at Saturday’s event toured the renovated interior, which includes open event space and historical displays and features like a model train exhibit highlighting the borough’s railroad roots. Music, refreshments and community engagement helped showcase the building’s potential as a future visitor center and gathering place along the nearby Liberty Bell Trail.
According to its website, Discover Lansdale is turning the front portion — the original office space — into a Welcome Center for newcomers and visitors via Broad Street, the Liberty Bell Trail and SEPTA.
A second floor office space is planned for the welcome section of the building, where one had existed in its heyday.
The remainder of the huge interior will become a one-of-a-kind venue for events public and private, from pop-up markets and beer gardens to holiday displays, to business meetings, to weddings and anniversaries, Discover Lansdale said.
With loading doors opening onto the parking lot, events can be indoors and out.
The Freight House project has been supported through a mix of grants and local fundraising, with more than $1 million secured in recent years to fund structural improvements, utilities and restoration work. Organizers said additional phases are still planned, including exterior upgrades and expanded amenities.
With the doors now open, Discover Lansdale officials said the Freight House is poised to become a centerpiece of the borough’s downtown — reconnecting the community with a key piece of its past while creating a new destination for the future.
