Pawtucket-Centrail Falls Train Station, Rhode Island
On Sunday, January 16, 1916, the Pawtucket Train Station opened in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. It was built by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad as a replacement for two separate stations in Pawtucket and nearby Central Falls for $350,000, or $8,881,298 million when adjusted for inflation.
After over 40 years of use, the station fell into disrepair and was closed in 1959. However, passengers still accessed the train platforms through stairways on the street until February 20, 1981, when Rhode Island stopped funding service to the area. The building was purchased by A&B Realty in 1972 and planned to replace the building with a residential tower called Metro Towers in 1978, but that did not come to pass. Instead, the interior was used as a flea market until 2005, when Oscar W. Seelbinder purchased it. Seelbinder had part of the property redeveloped into a CVS and planned to tear down the baggage area until a court order stopped the demolition.
The state of Rhode Island won a $13 million grant through the Federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to help redevelop the property into a new transportation hub. In addition, they won an additional $7 million from the Federal Transit Administration to include a bus depot. The total cost of redevelopment is estimated to be $47 million.
Trains are expected to begin service in July 2022 and buses in the Fall of 2022.
Matt Lambros RI Pawtucket Nov 30, 2021 Architecture
Nov 30, 2021
SHARE
