Union Station (Providence)
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Union Station
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1898 Union Station
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| Location | Providence, Rhode Island |
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| Built | 1898 |
| Architect | Stone, Carpenter & Willson |
| Part of | Downtown Providence Historic District (#84001967) |
| NRHP Reference # | 75000003[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 20, 1975 |
| Designated CP | February 10, 1984 |
Union Station describes two distinct defunct train stations in Providence, Rhode Island.
The original Union Station was Providence's first, opening in 1847 to accommodate the needs of the newly thriving city. It was considered "a brilliant example of Romanesque architecture" in its time, and the longest building in America. As the city continued to grow, so too did the need for terminal space, ultimately resulting in the paving over of the remnants of the city's inland bay in 1890. The question of what to do with the now undersized station was spontaneously answered in February 1896 when the station suffered a catastrophic fire.
A much larger Union Station was opened in 1898, clad in distinctive yellow brick, which the Providence Journal heralded as "a new era of history of this city".[2] The station was designed by the firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, which had also designed other Providence buildings.[3] Though rail use was expected to grow, by the 1980s rail traffic had dropped 75 percent. City planners saw the opportunity to dismantle the "Chinese Wall" of train tracks that hemmed in Providence's central business district and moved MBTA and Amtrak service to a new, smaller station about a half mile north in 1986.[4]
Union Station caught fire in April 1987[5] amidst $11 million in renovations, forcing a change of plans. Parts of the original station have now been renovated and the building contains offices and restaurants, including the Union Station Brewery.
The center-most building of Union Station now houses the Rhode Island Foundation, who leases space to Rhode Island Public Radio, RI Kids Count, Women's Fund RI, and two restaurants: The Capital Grille and Bar Louie.
See also
References
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- ↑ RISD : Rhode Island School of Design : MUSEUM HISTORY
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- ↑ Providence Journal Article
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Union Station (Providence, Rhode Island). |
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- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. RI-388, "Providence Union Station, Exchange Terrace, Providence, Providence County, RI", 23 photos, 4 data pages, 1 photo caption page
- Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) No. RI-23, "Promenade Street Interlocking Tower, Promenade Street between Union Station & East Side Tunnel Viaduct", 6 photos, 3 data pages, 1 photo caption page
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| Topics | |
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| Lists by state |
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| Other areas | |
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- Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island
- Commons category link is locally defined
- Railway stations opened in 1898
- Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
- Former Amtrak stations in Rhode Island
- Union stations in the United States
- Former railway stations in the United States
- Transportation in Providence, Rhode Island
- Buildings and structures in Providence, Rhode Island
- Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island
