Union Station

2017-05-11T14:37:17+00:00

The Hub of Transportation

Imagine this building as the central location for industry and modernity in 19th-century Providence. Picture a tangle of railroad tracks and constant motion, with engineers and manufacturers working hard to support (arguably) the most important place downtown––the railroad station. In the late 19th century Union Station was the hub of southeastern New England’s transportation network. Goods came and went through this terminal supporting the machinery, textile, and jewelry industries that fueled the growth and future of Providence.

Union Railroad Station was built from 1896-1898 by the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad company overlooking Exchange Place. Initially the complex consisted of five buildings to support the increase of passenger rail travel and material goods, but then simplified into a singular structure. Union Station was praised for its stately symmetrical design but also criticized for the long building and web of tracks that separated the train station from the Rhode Island State House behind it. With the decline of rail travel in the 1980s, Union Station was closed and a smaller station was opened closer to the State House. It took a herculean effort to remove the winding tracks described as a “Chinese Wall” to simplify the area and create today’s Exchange Terrace. Notably, modern structures built in the block of Union Station mirror the Italian Renaissance style architecture of the original building, retaining the city’s historic roots. Now, Union Station is home to several nonprofits, restaurants, and RIPR, the local public radio station.

For more (including 3 images & 1 audio file) view the original article

Shepard Company Building

2017-05-10T18:30:18+00:00

Retail in Downtown Providence

Few places in downtown evoke such fond memories like the iconic Shepard Company Department Store, a fixture of the 19th and 20th-century Providence shopping experience. Built in the 1870s, Shepard’s initially was 6,400 square feet. By 1903, it grew to include 301,000 square feet, occupying an entire city block!

Founder John Shepard insisted that his store was not simply one large business, but instead a collection of quaint shops, “each more complete in itself than the small separate stores,” with each division offering a premier shopping experience. The result was a unique offering of various goods and services. Inside people could find Shepard’s Tearoom (which offered a fine dining experience), clothing and jewelry departments, an ice making and refrigeration plant, a nursery, and even a letter writing station. Reportedly, Rhode Islanders could find nearly everything at Shepard’s. Besides merely functioning as a destination for shopping and socializing, Rhode Island’s first radio station WEAN began inside this building as well.

In it's prime, Shepard's also helped to orient visitors in downtown Providence. Meeting “at the clock” friends and families used the large 19th-century cast iron clock outside the Westminster Street entrance as a point of reference. Though once successful, the Shepard Company went bankrupt in 1974. Fortunately, the exterior of the building and its iconic clock still remain largely unchanged.

Today the Shepard’s Building serves various educational institutions, an example of repurposing an iconic space to serve the neighborhood’s needs.

For more (including 2 images & 1 audio file) view the original article

Rhode Tour

Union Station

Shepard Company Building