Re: (rshsdepot) Woonsocket, RI

["Paul S. Luchter" <luckyshow_@_mindspring.com>]

What trolley service is offered by the RIPTA
- -----Original Message-----
From: Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>
To: Rail Depot List <rshsdepot_@_lists.railfan.net>
Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2002 6:24 PM
Subject: (rshsdepot) Woonsocket, RI


Links:
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9105/depot2.jpg  (recent photo)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/9105/Depot.gif  (depot circa 1900)

Federal grant to breathe new life into old depot

RUSS OLIVO, Staff Writer April 17, 2002 Woonsocket Call

WOONSOCKET -- The state Department of Transportation (DOT) has received a
$650,000 federal grant for renovations to the historic Depot Building,
paving the way for construction to begin later this summer, state officials
say.

Lori Capaldi, DOT's chief real estate specialist, said the grant will
underwrite an estimated $1.8 million in improvements to the west wing of the
building. A second phase of renovations that could cost another $1 million
is planned to get under way in "the next couple of years."

The current phase of work also calls for the development of a basement
repository for archeological artifacts unearthed during DOT excavations and
a Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus depot, said Capaldi.

"We're hoping to be under construction by July," Capaldi said. "It's kind of
nice for a building that was considered for demolition."

News of the grant was announced this week in a joint press release by U.S.
Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy and U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, both Democrats who serve on
the appropriations committees of their respective chambers. They said they
secured the funding last year in appropriations for fiscal 2002.

Built by the Providence & Worcester Railroad in 1882, the Depot, at the
corner of High and Main streets, presently houses a small visitors center
for the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
Commission, as well as administrative offices for the commission's 22
employees. The state DOT purchased the building from the Worcester County
Institutions for Savings in 1992 for $250,000, sparing the landmark from the
wrecker's ball, state officials said.

The building, said Capaldi, was once considered one of the finest passenger
rail depots in New England. It is actually the second depot on the site; the
first, built in 1846, burned down. Special tourism trains still pass through
the depot several times a year.

Over the years, the depot has fallen into disrepair and, until now, DOT had
been unable to secure funding for repairs.

In addition to changing the windows and shoring up the exterior, the plans
call for park benches in the courtyard and a small foyer where people
waiting for buses can find informational materials about bus, ferry and
trolley service offered by RIPTA. The plumbing and electrical systems will
be overhauled, and restrooms, entrances and exits will become
handicapped-accessible.

In the basement, DOT will build a climate-controlled repository for
artifacts the agency is obliged to catalogue under federal preservation
laws. The new facility will also allow DOT to centralize its collection,
which is presently scattered among various sites. DOT says the artifacts
aren't generally museum-quality, but those of interest to academics or
historians -- shards of pottery and bits of old-time construction materials,
for example.

Because the building is on the National Register of Historic Places, the
renovations must be supervised by the state Historical Preservation
Commission, which could slow the project down, Capaldi said.

"Here's the dilemma," she said. "You have to restore these buildings in some
way, shape or form to what they used to be like. They've even done paint
studies to see what color they used to be."

Kennedy said the restoration of the Depot "is simply the next step in the
wonderful revitalization of the Blackstone Valley.

"These funds will provide the necessary repairs to enable the Corridor
Commission to better promote our tourism industry, one of the Valley's
fastest-growing economic engines, and at the same time preserve our cultural
heritage," Kennedy said.

Reed said the grant is "vital to the preservation of a unique historic site.
Our efforts today to conserve our historic resources will ensure that Rhode
Island remains a wonderful place to live and visit tomorrow."

=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org


=================================
The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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