Union Railroad Station: New London's Gem

Union Railroad Station: New London's Gem

Newly restored, one of New London's most prominent monuments is poised to continue serving the city as a transportation center and public focal point, as it has done for 115 years. Located at the foot of State Street, where downtown New London meets the harbor, Union Station is a 19th-century example of intermodal transportation, the intersection of railroad, wharves, and highway.

The station was commissioned in 1885 as a shared facility for the New London Northern and the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroads. For a design, they went to Henry Hobson Richardson (1838-1886), one of the great geniuses of American architecture. The station was not completed until after Richardson's death, but it summarizes several aspects of his career. The last and largest of his railroad stations, it demonstrates a clear understanding of the functions required. As at Harvard University's Sever Hall, the simple, boxy massing suggests the new interest in Colonial architecture. And the decorative brickwork, like that of Emmanuel Church in Pittsburgh, manages to overcome the seeming contradiction between a smooth, taut surface and the late 19th-century love of overall patternmaking.

The center of a preservation battle in the early 1970s, the station was finally saved from demolition and restored under the ownership of a partnership headed by Boston architect George Notter, who devoted the next 25 years to protecting the building. But by the turn of the century it was once again looking shabby. Now under new ownership, the station once again is the gem of New London.

The restoration began with cleaning and repairing the brick exterior, still under scaffolding as CPN went to press in December. The slate roof has been replaced and all doors and windows restored. Inside, a new master stair will provide easier access to the upper floors, which will be renovated in the second phase of work as Class A office space, and the former baggage shed at the north end of the building is being converted into retail space. Modern code and accessibility requirements are being met, and the building has received new mechanical systems.

The centerpiece of the restoration is the passenger lobby. In 1976 the northern portion of the original lobby had been partitioned off to create a restaurant with a mezzanine overlooking the waiting area. A large hole was cut in the floor of the remaining lobby to create a basement-level waiting area. All these changes have been reversed, returning the lobby to its original size and appearance. The wooden wainscoting and beamed ceiling have been repaired and refinished to their original color, as determined by careful study. The plaster walls are also once again their original color, a warm red. One original feature has not been restored, however: instead of the massive wooden benches that typically filled Victorian railroad stations, there will be movable furniture, to allow varied use of the space.

The goal of the renovation is to make Union Station an accessible community building that is interesting, fun, and functional. It is not to be a museum to a bygone era, but rather an active, vibrant part of New London's present-day life. Barbara Timken, one of the station's owners, said, "It's a fantastic building, and I think we can make it work for the city as a real portal. It's a connection from State Street to the trains and the water."

The restoration is being carried out by the station's owners, the New London Railroad Company, whose partners are Timken, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Todd O'Donnell, a local businessman. Timken is a former Trustee of the Connecticut Trust and a committed preservationist. A native of New London, she joined Union Station Associates, the partnership that bought the station in the 1970s, while still a graduate student. In 2002 she and O'Donnell formed a new partnership to take possession of the building. The restoration architects are Barun Basu Associates of New London-headed by Barun Basu, another former CTHP Trustee-and Brunner/Cott of Boston.

Since the 1970s, Union Station has been a focus and a symbol of historic preservation in New London. The organization formed in 1973 to lobby against its demolition, Union Railroad Station Trust, merged with Landmarks, another preservation group, to form New London Landmarks, which still is the city's nonprofit preservation organization and still uses Union Station as its logo. On December 14, New London Landmarks and New London Main Street hosted a gala to celebrate the restoration of Union Station. We celebrate with them.

For more information: New London Landmarks, (860) 442-0003. New London Main Street, www.newlondonmainstreet.org or (860) 444-2489.