While some local officials are still questioning the possibility of a downtown bus terminal in State College, others are concerned with the fate of the historic building that the current terminal occupies.

Members of the Historic Resources Commission are concerned that once the terminal is moved, the historic station may no longer be used because of reconstruction in the area.

The current Greyhound Bus Lines terminal, 152 N. Atherton St., may eventually move to one of two possible locations.

The station, which was built in 1930, is the last remnant of the Bellefonte Central Railroad in the borough. Because plans for a new terminal are not finalized it is unclear whether the historic terminal would be razed or preserved.

"It is the most visible artifact we have in State College of the railroad," said Mike Bezilla, director of advancement project and communications at Penn State. Bezilla has also conducted research and is writing a book on the Bellefonte Central Railroad.

Joanne Lopinsky, State College Borough zoning officer, said the railroad transported mostly freight and delivered many items from mail-order catalogues at State College's train station. However, the railroad did make an exception when President Dwight D. Eisenhower stopped at the station in 1953.

"The station was the industrial railway center for State College," she said.

The station was constructed to replace an earlier station, which was located near the Hammond Building and later torn down.

Bezilla said the station cost about $15,000 to build.

"The railroad borrowed the money from Penn State. It was the 1930s and the beginning of the Great Depression," he said.

He also said Penn State architects possibly designed the building, but the exact architect is unknown.

The railroad was eventually abandoned and stopped running in July 1974, with only one or two freight cars running a month.

In spring 1976, the building was converted to house the current bus station, Bezilla said.

Lopinsky said much of the history of the building is a mystery.

"There are no existing plans for the building ... this place, for whatever reason, has fallen through the cracks, and we can't figure out why," she said.

Penn State spokesman Tysen Kendig said while there has been some talk of relocating the bus station, there are no concrete plans for the North Atherton Street building.

"Nothing has been confirmed or finalized," he said.

The university owns the current station facility.

Greyhound officials declined comment on the building's status.