Train Stations With Elegant Clock Towers
By Beryl Frank
Union Station, Portland, Maine
Portland is a city which has had many different faces. In 1632, when the British settled here, the name changed from Machigonne - which is what the natives called the land - to Casco. In 1658 what is today called Portland was known as Falmouth.
But when the railroads came to Portland, they brought with them passengers and a connection to and from Boston. Portland increased in size and population, and by 1888 the Union Station was built.
The firm of architects who designed the station was Bradlee, Winslow and Wetherill of Boston. Their work was completed in 1888. At that time the railroads that ran here were the Boston & Maine, Maine Central, Portland & Ogdenburg, and Portland & Rochester. The latter two became parts of other lines but still ran through Union Station.
The exterior of the station was made of pink granite. The building used white for the trim, a nice contrast to the granite.
Inside the building was a dining room luxurious in every way from the white linen table cloths to the large napkins set at each place. Waiters served delicious food and passengers going both north and south enjoyed themselves.
The waiting room was spacious and well lit, and many a young soldier said goodbye to his sweetheart there in both world wars. The ticket office was in a many-sided booth large enough to handle the many passengers who purchased their train tickets.
Portland Union Station opened officially on Monday, June 25, 1888. But today, in 2006, one cannot visit the old train station. In 1961, it was razed. This was a tragic, historic loss to the city of Portland, Maine, but means of transportation had changed.
Airplanes and automobiles caused changes in the way people traveled, and the white linen table cloths gave way to McDonald's paper napkins and straws. A fine piece of architecture was gone forever when the bulldozer razed the Portland Union Station. Only pictures and memories are left.
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This was the scene when President Theodore Roosevelt arrived about 1902. [Early 1900's photo courtesy Joseph Pallotta]
From the Portland Trade Journal of June 1891: "Dining Room, Union Station. The Union Depot of Portland is one of the finest and most attractive railway stations in America, in its every appointment, including its beautiful dining room or cafe of which see partial photo. It can be said it had rich and ample furnishings shown to advantage, but it can be said at this time, that no city can show a nicer or more attractive railway station, dining saloon where every luxury is served." [Courtesy Maine Central collection]
Union Station at St. John and Congress streets. On the left is the West End Hotel where many train passengers stayed.
The Clock Tower: Originally, a 20-foot square tower which rose 138 feet. The clock kept time for 72 years and was wound once a week. [Courtesy Gardiner Roberts]
A Sad, Sad Picture: This clock tower was razed August 31, 1961, but the clock itself was saved and is displayed today in Congress Square, Portland. The last Union Station clock keeper, Walter A. Browne, saved the clock and adapted it to the new location. Although the clock was saved, the tower was not.
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