It had to fit within a small urban footprint: the station entrance facing Broad Street was only 40 feet (12 m) wide.

[2] A reinforced concrete trainshed covered the two island platforms, which ran east to Mulberry Street.

[8][9] Trains operated east-west over the Newark and New York branch to the Jersey City (with a ferry transfer to the Liberty Street Ferry Terminal in New York City) or north-south via the Newark and Elizabethport Branch to Perth Amboy and points beyond.

[11] Intended as a temporary measure, this service pattern became permanent after the Jersey Central abandoned plans to rebuild the bridge.

Under the Aldene Plan, Jersey Central passenger trains on the main line were re-routed to serve Newark Penn Station over the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

[12][13] Developer Harry Grant purchased the station from the city in 1986 for $1.2 million, with plans to build the 60,000 square feet (5,600 m2) Renaissance Mall on the property.