MassachusettsPalmer Union Station on Depot Street was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson for the Boston & Albany Railroad and built 1883-1884 to serve both the Boston & Albany and the New London Northern lines, replacing two smaller stations. It is the earliest surviving example of Richardson's work for the railroad and an outstanding Richardsonian Romanesque design, with a distinctive trapezoidal plan fitted to the triangular site formed by the crossing tracks, walls of random ashlar Monson granite trimmed with Longmeadow sandstone, Romanesque arches, and a broad hipped roof. It was built by the Flynt Construction Company of Monson, with grounds by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (no longer intact). The station anchored Palmer's growth as an industrial and transportation center and was listed under National Register criteria A and C.
Boston and Albany Railroad: Palmer Union Station
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Boston and Albany Railroad: Palmer Union Station is a landmark in Palmer, Hampden County. It is one of 3,654 landmarks documented in Hampden County, among 3,815 historic sites cataloged across the county on MassRoam.
The site sits at 42.1559, -72.3293 near Palmer. The nearest cataloged historic site is Palmer Memorial Hall (landmark), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include U. S. Post Office - Palmer Main Branch, House at 234 State Ave, and Monson Developmental Center - Cemetery.
This record is drawn from public historical records. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.
Palmer's Union Station was designed by architect H. H. Richardson and opened in June 1884 to consolidate two earlier stations serving railroads that crossed at a narrow angle in downtown Palmer. Built of granite from a nearby Monson quarry with Longmeadow brownstone trim, its grounds were originally laid out by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The station cost about $53,600 and served the Boston and Albany and New London Northern lines; regular passenger service ended in 1971 when Amtrak declined to serve the stop. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 and since 2004 has housed the Steaming Tender Restaurant, popular with railfans watching the still-busy junction.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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