Union Stations Across the U.S.
By Beryl Frank
Providence, Rhode Island
In 1847, Providence, Rhode Island, was a thriving city in the United States. The railroads were making their way across the nation when the Union Railroad Depot - the original train station in Providence - opened. The architect was Thomas A. Tafft, who was educated at Brown University in Providence.
The station Tafft designed was considered to be a good example of Romanesque architecture at a disputed 700 feet long. (Some claimed it was only 625 feet.) Whichever, there were two graceful towers on one end of the building and an eight-sided pavilion on the other. The building featured Railroad Hall where Abraham Lincoln addressed a public meeting before he was nominated as a presidential candidate.
Fire was the big enemy of the Providence Union Station. In February 1896, the station was destroyed. It was struck down, but not out. A new station was designed by the firm of Stone, Carpenter and Willson, and was ready for train travel by 1898.
Who brought all of this about?
J. Pierpont Morgan!
He had purchased 130 independently-owned train lines and transformed them into one single line called the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company. This brought nearly 300 trains daily entering and leaving the station - a vast number of trains for the brownish-orange brick station trimmed in deep red.
And then came the airplanes, the automobiles, buses and trucks. These were all competitors of the trains. The number of trains decreased by 75 percent. Ultimately, Amtrak took over the rail system.
By April 26, 1987, the Union Station of Providence was an empty shell. On that day, the station again suffered a devastating fire. This fire stopped the planned renovations of the Union Station into a three-story retail location. Instead, the Rhode Island Foundation emerged with the Chamber of Commerce in one building and a variety of offices and restaurants in the remaining space.
A clock window is above the street entrance to the building (the clock is electric), and the window to the Tempus Room has a nice view.
Today, the station is served by Amtrak and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. It has four tracks for passenger service with a fifth track passing through for Providence and Worcester Railroad freight trains.
Providence Union Station has come a long way since 1847. It has survived two huge fires, but the brownish-orange brick trimmed in deep red remains as a recollection of when the trains were kings of the city.
ABOVE.. One of the earliest pictures of the Providence Union Station shows horse-drawn carriages bringing passengers to the station. Ladies wore long gowns and the gentlemen wore tall hats. [Photo courtesy Edmund Barrett]
BELOW.. In 2006, the Rhode Island Foundation had taken over most of the building. If there was a clock in one of the original towers, it has been replaced with an electric clock in the 21st century. [Photo courtesy Ron Dermarderosian]