A 19th-century freight station designed by one of York's most renowned architectural firms is collapsing and could be torn down as early as next month.

City officials say the demolition is a necessity, and the city's Historic Architectural Review Board grudgingly approved the work Wednesday.

But HARB members said the city administration and the property owner should never have let the building crumble.

"This is demolition by neglect," said HARB member Gary Geiselman.

The city engineer has examined the building, and the city has deemed it unsafe, said Kendra Hunter, the city's deputy director of permits, planning and zoning. Though the city is pushing to approve the demolition, she said the work would be the responsibility of the York Railway Co., which owns the property.

A century old: The building, located along railroad tracks at the intersection of North George and Arch Streets, was designed by the prominent Dempwolf architectural firm and built around 1895, according to a review by Barb Raid of nonprofit

Historic York Inc. It served as the Western Maryland Railway Freight Station and is one of the few railroad-related buildings remaining in the area.

Though the brick office at the front of the building has been renovated in recent years, the wood-frame freight depot behind it has fallen into disrepair.

York Railway asked for permission to demolish the back portion of the building in 2003, but the HARB said at least part of it could still be preserved at the time. Neglect in the four years that followed has since made the building much harder to save, board members said.

"I don't think a building in an active state of collapse is a hill I want to die on," Geiselman said.

The HARB approved the demolition by a 5-2 vote, though board member Joan Burgasser and chairman Mark Shermeyer said such a historic building should be preserved instead.

"This is one where if the board doesn't draw a line, it will never be drawn," Shermeyer said.

Ownership murky: Though some board members faulted the city for not forcing York Railway to fix up the building, Hunter said the problem was determining who owned the property.

Different records listed different owners at different addresses, making it difficult for the city to hold anyone responsible, Hunter said.

But Burgasser said the city ignored opportunities to preserve the space. She said she told a member of the city's economic development staff about someone who would like to create an office in the brick front and preserve part of the rear, but the staff member told her the city would rather see a different use for the building.

The building's brick front is part of the Northwest Triangle redevelopment area, and the current plan calls for demolishing the rear frame portion of the building and using the front building for offices, retail or perhaps a coffeeshop.

But until someone moves in, Hunter said, the site is likely to become parking for area events -- such as games at Sovereign Bank Stadium just across George Street.