page_title: Union Station (Worcester, Massachusetts)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Union Station (Worcester, Massachusetts) / History
caption_attribution_description: English: In early image of the Union Station building in Worcester, Massachusetts. An imprint on the rear of the card reads, "Pub. by J.J. Williams, Worcester, Mass., U.S.A."
context_page_description: Union Station is a railway station located at Washington Square in downtown Worcester, Massachusetts. It is the western terminus of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Framingham/Worcester commuter rail line, with inbound service to Boston, and a station along Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited passenger line. It also services Peter Pan and Greyhound intercity bus routes as well as local Worcester Regional Transit Authority bus service.
context_section_description: The current station was built in 1911 by the New York Central Railroad along the Boston and Albany Railroad Main Line, during the heyday of railroading in the United States, replacing the previous 1875 station. As a union station, it also served the Providence and Worcester Railroad (which was acquired by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad), the Norwich and Worcester Railroad (acquired by the New York and New England Railroad), the Worcester, Nashua and Rochester Railroad and the Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad (which both became part of the Boston and Maine Railroad). Passenger service to Union Station ended by 1974, and the abandoned station fell into disrepair.
  Subsequently, Union Station was acquired by the Worcester Redevelopment Authority and completely renovated at a cost of $32 million. The station was restored and renovated by Finegold Alexader Architects of Boston, and re-opened in July 2000. An intercity and local bus terminal, with five bus ports, was added at a cost of $5.2 million and opened in August 2006.
  Union Station's facilities include the Grand Hall, with original elliptical stained-glass ceilings, interior marble columns and mahogany wood trim, Luciano's Cotton Club, a 1920s gangster-themed restaurant, and the Union Station Parking Garage, which has 500 spaces and direct access to the station. The Cannabis Control Commission established their state headquarters in Union Station in 2019.
  There are proposals to extend more frequent passenger service west to Springfield.
caption: Union Station, circa 1920
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