(rshsdepot) Woonsocket, RI

["Jim Dent" <james.dent_@_itochu.com>]

=46rom the Woonsocket RI Call...

Federal funds earmarked to restore historic depot
RUSS OLIVO, Staff Writer June 26, 2001

WOONSOCKET -- After years in the planning, it looks like the federal
government is going to put $1.3 million in the budget to restore the
historic Depot Building, turning it into a combination RIPTA bus depot, a
repository for state archeological artifacts and a tourism visitors cente=
r.
U.S. Reps. Patrick J. Kennedy (D-R.I.) and James Langevin (D-R.I.) announ=
ced
jointly yesterday that the House Appropriations Committee has approved th=
e
funding as part of the Transportation Act of 2002. The full House and the
conference of House and Senate Appropriations Committee members are expec=
ted
to follow suit, paving the way for the funds to be included in the budget
for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, said Kennedy, an appropriations
committeeman.

Built in 1882, the Depot is currently the headquarters of the John H. Cha=
fee
Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, an arm of =
the
National Park Service that oversees tourism and recreational resources in
the 20-odd member towns in the corridor, from Pawtucket to Sutton, Mass.
Since 1993, the building has been owned by the state Department of
Transportation, which is a partner in the renovation project.

"The restoration of the Woonsocket Depot is simply the next step in the
wonderful revitalization of the Blackstone Valley," said Kennedy. "These
funds will provide the necessary repairs to enable the corridor commissio=
n
to better promote our tourism industry, one of the Valley's fastest-growi=
ng
economic engines, and at the same time preserve our cultural heritage."

Michael Creasey, executive director of the corridor commission, said plan=
s
are to restore and renovate the building so the National Park Service, DO=
T
and the Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority can all share in usi=
ng
it.

Plans call for keeping the corridor functions upstairs, with a new atrium
for exhibits of interest to tourists, said Creasey. The commission wants =
to
establish an area with a small library for books, slides and videos about
the Blackstone Valley.

Downstairs will be converted into a central repository for archeological
artifacts unearthed by DOT during highway excavations, and a public bus
terminal, where RIPTA will have a ticket dispensary, a waiting area and a=
n
informational office for bus, trolley and ferry service, officials said.

Creasey said the corridor commission spent $50,000 last year for an
architectural plan which is all but complete. The plan calls for an overh=
aul
of the interior and the historic renovation of the exterior. If all goes
according to plan, the work will go out to bid in December, begin in the
spring and be finished by summer of 2003.

"We're very pleased," said Creasey. "For us to restore the Woonsocket Dep=
ot
to its historic grandeur is a big win for the state, the city of Woonsock=
et
and the heritage corridor. Having the building restored will add tremendo=
us
value to the city's effort to revitalize downtown and will provide
much-needed space for the commission and others to carry out their
activities."

DOT's staff archeologist and Woonsocket resident Mike Hebert said most of
DOT's collection of artifacts, including Indian and colonial relics, is
spread out among the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission's
Providence office and five different consulting firms.

"It's scattered all over," he said. "We need a central repository, and th=
is
is going to be it."

DOT is required to save everything from vintage household garbage and bro=
ken
bottles to old bricks and bits of pottery whenever it does a highway
excavation. Most of the stuff is not of museum-quality, said Hebert, but =
it
is important for record keeping and research. The climate-controlled
repository will be open to public inspection by appointment with DOT.

Previously owned by the Providence & Worcester Railroad Company, the High
Street depot was once one of the finest passenger railway stations in New
England. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the facility
turned out to be in worse shape than expected when DOT originally inspect=
ed
it, Hebert said.

The work, which must meet the standards of historical authenticity set fo=
rth
by the federal Department of the Interior, will include restoring windows
which have been filled with cinderblocks, electrical, plumbing, restrooms
and entrances which are not handicapped accessible. The depot still serve=
s
as a railway station for several P&W tourist trains a year.

=A9The Call 2001

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