Hartford Union Station

Hartford Union Station
An Amtrak shuttle train at Hartford's Union Station
Location	One Union Place Hartford, CT 06103
Owned by	Greater Hartford Transit District
Line(s)	Northeast Regional   Vermonter   New Haven – Springfield Shuttle   Hartford Line (Late 2016)   CTfastrak
Platforms	1 island platform
Tracks	1 (formerly 4)
Connections	Connecticut Transit
Construction
Disabled access	Yes
Other information
Station code	HFD
History
Opened	1889
Rebuilt	1914, 1987
Traffic
Passengers (2013)	187,357[1]  4.4%
Services
Preceding station   Amtrak   Following station Berlin toward Norfolk, Newport News or Lynchburg Northeast Regional Windsor, CT toward Springfield, MA Berlin toward Washington, DC Vermonter Windsor Locks toward St. Albans Berlin toward New Haven New Haven – Springfield Shuttle Windsor, CT toward Springfield, MA   CTfastrak   Sigourney Street toward Downtown New Britain CTfastrak Terminus   Starting in late 2016   ConnDOT Newington Junction toward New Haven Union Station Hartford Line Windsor toward Springfield
Hartford Union Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Union Place, Hartford, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°46′08″N 72°40′54″W / 41.76889°N 72.68167°W / 41.76889; -72.68167Coordinates: 41°46′08″N 72°40′54″W / 41.76889°N 72.68167°W / 41.76889; -72.68167
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1889
Architectural style	Other, Richardsonian Romanesque
Governing body	Private
NRHP Reference #	75001932[2]
Added to NRHP	November 25, 1975

Hartford Union Station is the main railway station in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The historic station building is near the State Capitol Building. It is a Richardsonian Romanesque building designed by George Keller and built in 1889. A 1914 fire required a rebuild; the interior was renovated in 1987. It has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1975.

It is served by Amtrak's New Haven-Springfield Line which branches off from the Northeast Corridor in New Haven. Of the 12 Connecticut stations served by Amtrak, Hartford was the third busiest in 2011.^[3]

Building

The station entrance

Station interior

The station is located on the western edge of downtown Hartford, on a three-acre (1.2 ha) block between Union Place and Spruce Street on the east and west and Church and Asylum streets to the north and south.^[4] Opposite the main building on Union Place are a mixture of other old buildings and parking lots. To the west is a triangular parking lot and the viaduct carrying Interstate 84 and U.S. Route 6, which curves around the north of the station as well. Across Asylum on the south is Bushnell Park, also listed on the Register.

The main building is located between the tracks and Union Place. It is a three-story rectangular building in rough-faced Portland brownstone with two smaller, similarly shaped two-story wings on the north and south. The main building has a flat roof; the wings are gabled and tiled, with dormer windows piercing them at regular intervals.^[4]

On the east (front) facade, a wide set of steps rises to the main entrance, beneath a flat hood at the springlines of three of the large segmental arches that run across the first story. Above these is a stylized floral molded course. The second story has similar but smaller segmental arches set with a recessed panel and four-pane windows. The central bay has "1914" carved into its panel; all others are blank. The two wings have four-pane rectangular windows.^[4]

At the station level were originally four tracks (currently one) divided by a middle platform. Two sets of iron roofs create a train shed. On the wall side those roofs are supported by spiral-shaped iron brackets. In the middle columns and simple curved iron brackets support the trusses that hold up the shed roof.^[4]

The interior has been remodeled since the station was rebuilt. It is a mostly open area with stairs along the west wall leading up to the elevated tracks and benches along the east. Flooring is red tile. There are offices on the north and south; some look out over the main space.

History

The station in 1912

The station was built in 1889, and served the Hartford and New Haven Railroad, Central New England Railway, Hartford and Connecticut Valley Railroad (all of which were acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad) and the New York and New England Railroad, but the entire structure had to be rebuilt after a fire in 1914. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as "Hartford Union Station" in 1975.^[5]

Currently only Amtrak trains use the station, but a new commuter service on the New Haven-Springfield Line called the Hartford Line is under construction. The station is currently served by 1 track and platform. The second track and platform were removed by Amtrak in the 1990s to reduce maintenance costs and because the underlying structure is no longer strong enough to support more than one train at a time. Additional tracks and platforms may be built as part of the I-84 Hartford Project which may require realigning the highway and rail line.

Connections

• Connecticut Transit Hartford: 20, 30, 60, 62, 64, 66, 72, 74 & 76.

See also

Connecticut portal Architecture portal Trains portal National Register of Historic Places portal

• List of Amtrak stations
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford, Connecticut

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hartford Union Station.

• Amtrak – Stations – Hartford Union Station
• Hartford Union Station (HFD) Great American Stations (Amtrak)
• Hartford Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)

U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Lists by county Fairfield Hartford Litchfield Middlesex New Haven New London Tolland Windham Lists by city or town Bridgeport Greenwich Hartford Middletown New Haven Southington Stamford West Hartford Windsor Other lists Bridges National Historic Landmarks Keeper of the Register History of the National Register of Historic Places Property types Historic district Contributing property