Putnam station facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Putnam Railroad Station
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 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
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| Location | 35, 45-47 Main St., Putnam, Connecticut |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1907 |
| Architect | Patterson, William |
| Architectural style | Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals |
| NRHP reference No. | 07000742 |
| Added to NRHP | July 24, 2007 |
Putnam station is an old train station located in Putnam, Connecticut. It was built a long time ago, in 1907. This building shows how important trains were in helping Putnam grow into a city. It also looks really cool with its special design, which reminds people of buildings from the Mediterranean area. Today, the building is used for different businesses. Because it's so important and unique, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007, called the Putnam Railroad Station.
About the Putnam Train Station
The old Putnam train station is found near the southern part of Putnam's main shopping area. It sits between Main Street and South Main Street. The building faces north and south. Its eastern side used to face the train tracks. Now, that area is a parking lot.
The station is a brick building with one and a half stories. It has a main section with a pointed roof. On each side, there are sections with slanted roofs. The roof is made of terra cotta tiles. The colorful bricks and the roof give the building a look like styles from the Mediterranean Sea region.
History of the Putnam Station
Putnam was once a big center for making textiles in eastern Connecticut. Many small mill towns grew along its rivers. When the Norwich and Worcester Railroad arrived in 1840, downtown Putnam started to become an important economic hub. More train lines were built in the years that followed, which made the town grow even faster.
One of the first train stations that served all these lines was closer to Front Street. It was run by both the Norwich and Worcester and the New York and New England Railroad. The current station was planned and built to fix problems with that older station. It was finished in 1907.
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad built this station. This company had taken over all the train lines that went through Putnam. People used the station for train rides until April 30, 1971. At that time, Penn Central stopped the only daily train trip. This train went from New London to Worcester.
Train service from Hartford to Boston, which went through Putnam, stopped in 1955. This happened because the Flood of 1955 washed out a bridge just south of downtown Putnam. Since then, the old train station building has been changed. It is now used for different businesses and shops.
