Union Station (Providence)
United States historic place From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Union Station describes two distinct, defunct train stations in Providence, Rhode Island. Parts of the latter one were renovated and the building contains offices and restaurants.
Union Station | |
 1898 Union Station | |
   | |
| Location | Providence, Rhode Island |
|---|---|
| Built | 1898 |
| Architect | Stone, Carpenter & Willson |
| Part of | Downtown Providence Historic District (ID84001967) |
| NRHP reference No. | 75000003[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | February 20, 1975 |
| Designated CP | February 10, 1984 |
The original Union Station was Providence's first, opening in 1848 to accommodate the needs of the newly thriving city. This building was designed by 21 year old Rhode Island architect, Thomas Alexander Tefft in the Lombard Romanesque style. Construction of the station was supervised by Tallman & Bucklin. Extending 720 feet along the edge of Exchange Place, the structure was the largest railroad station in the United States the time of its construction.[2] The building has also been dubbed longest building in the country at the time, though this assertion is disputed.[3][4]
In 1885, American Architect and Building News voted the building one of the 20 best buildings in the country.[3] 20th century architectural historian Henry-Russell Hitchcock wrote of the station, "without much question it was the finest early station in the New World."[5]
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 on February 21, 1896 when the building suffered a catastrophic fire that effectively gutted the structure.[6]
A drawing of the first Union Station in 1857, ten years after its construction
City Hall and the first Union Station in 1885
An 1886 engraving of Exchange Place. The station is visible to the right of City Hall.
The building immediately following the 1896 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".[7] The station was designed by the firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, which had also designed other Providence buildings.[8] 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 Providence station about a half mile north in 1986.[9]
This c. 1910 postcard shows the second Union Station
South elevation of the station in 1982
The interior of the station in 1982
View over Kennedy Plaza. The old Union Station buildings are visible in the foreground.
Union Station caught fire in April 1987[10] 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, which leases space to The Public's Radio, RI Kids Count,[11] and Women's Fund RI.[12]
Track 15 food hall
A $23.5-million investment to develop Rhode Island's first food hall in the station was begun in 2022,[13] by a local developer who purchased the building from The Rhode Island Foundation.[14] The 18,000-square-foot food hall will be named Track 15, a reference to the fact that the historic Union Station had 14 tracks.[14] The space will include a large central bar, a 10,000-square-foot outdoor event space, an entertainment space, and seating for "more than 300."[14] A tentative opening of "late summer 2024" was announced, with a variety of local food vendors including seafood, burgers, craft beers, and Italian and Mexican cuisine.[14]
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