Woonsocket station is a former railroad station located at Depot Square in downtown

Woonsocket, Rhode Island Woonsocket ( ), is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 43,240 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the sixth largest city in the state. Being Rhode Island's northernmost city, Woonsock ...

. It was built by the

Providence and Worcester Railroad The Providence and Worcester Railroad is a Class II railroad operating of tracks in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, as well as New York via trackage rights. The company was founded in 1844 to build a railroad between Providence ...

in 1882 to replace a previous station built in 1847.

History

Hachiko

Depot Square was the central filming location for '' Hachi: A Dog's Tale'' in 2009. A statue of the dog,

Hachikō was a Japanese Akita dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his owner, Hidesaburō Ueno, for whom he continued to wait for over nine years following Ueno's death. Hachikō was born on November 10, 1923, at a farm near the city of Ōdate, ...

, was installed in front of the station in May 2012.

Renovation and proposed return of rail service

The building was renovated by William (Bill) Dogan and was the headquarters for Develco a (now defunct) real estate development company during the 1970s who was responsible for building Lincoln Mall and the Marquette building in Woonsocket, R.I. The building served as the headquarters for the

Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor The John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor is a National Heritage Corridor dedicated to the history of the early American Industrial Revolution, including mill towns stretching across 24 cities and towns (400,000 acre ...

. The Blackstone Valley Tourism Council organizes a

Polar Express ''The Polar Express'' is a children's book written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg and published by Houghton Mifflin in 1985. The book is now widely considered to be a classic Christmas story for young children. It was praised for its detai ...

excursion each year which operates from Woonsocket Depot. In February 2016, the

Rhode Island Department of Transportation The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is a Rhode Island state government agency charged with design, construction, maintenance and inspection of a wide range of transportation infrastructure. These include 3,300 lane miles of stat ...

leased the depot to the Boston Surface Railroad (BSRC) to be used by the company for commuter service between

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

and

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is a city and county seat of Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Named after Worcester, England, the city's population was 206,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the second-List of cities i ...

. Later, the depot was designated as the headquarters for the BSRC. The BSRC planned to build a high-level platform on the western side of the station for accessible level boarding. The Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor office was relocated from the depot to a mill in

Whitinsville, Massachusetts Whitinsville is an unincorporated village within the town of Northbridge in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. Whitinsville is a census-designated place (CDP) and its population was 6,750 at the 2020 census. Whitinsville is pronoun ...

. RIDOT filed for eviction of the BSRC in April 2019 over unpaid rent. After a legal battle and settlement, the company agreed in December 2020 to vacate the building in January 2021. The BSRC also planned to build a station in nearby Lincoln or Blackstone instead.

References

External links

Woonsocket railroad history
Buildings and structures in Woonsocket, Rhode Island Dog monuments Railway stations in Rhode Island Railway stations in the United States opened in 1847 Railway stations in the United States opened in 1882 Railway stations closed in 1941 Transportation buildings and structures in Providence County, Rhode Island 1847 establishments in Rhode Island {{RhodeIsland-struct-stub