NOTE: In the voiceover I said Amtrak closed the ticket office in 1959. I misspoke and should have said New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company. When Amtrak did become owners of the line in the 1970's, they also refused to resume service at this station. Thanks for watching.
@@alexclement7221 went from New Haven then to Penn Central then Conrail then finally B&M. Amtrak never operated out of the station, just owned the line.
I remember the flea market. We used to go! This is not far from the church and school we grew up attending. The vandalism is due to the fact that its in one of the poorest cities,if not the poorest city in R.I....it's all so sad.
Outstanding!!! Well Done!! One correction, Amtrak did not close this building in 1959. Amtrak did not yet exist, Amtrak was created in 1971 by Act of US Congress. This station was owned and operated by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad Company, and it was that railroad that closed the main building.
he’s confusing when service at the station ended with when the building closed...Amtrak owned the tracks but never operated commuter trains even though it was in service for nearly a decade alongside Amtrak
That first main building at 5:38 if someone who had money bought that and turned it into a skatepark I think would make money. Would be a sick place for lots of things
I remember the station well growing up in Central Falls in the 1960's and 70's. In 1993 (or 1994, sorry, it's been a while) we cleaned up part of the station, creating a mythical Santa Clause's workshop where welfare children came in every few minutes, on Christmas Eve, sat on Santa's lap, and received the one gift they only dreamed of receiving. Such a sad site to see how it has gone into such decay.
I lived right off of Broad Street in the early 90s. This place was beyond dangerous to venture into back then. There was also an abandoned drive in movie theater down the road that had old trailers on the property. My friends and I went in one of those trailers one day, as we would from time to time, and we found a mattress that was literally covered in blood. I always made it home when the street lights came on.
Love your videos! The music, the vibe, the way they are edited. Always so well done. Also really cool and super informative. Answering all the questions I’ve always had! Thank you!
This is a brilliant portrayal of a fascinating building that is a relic of a bygone railway age. I have never visited Rhode Island but the station is of great interest to me. The US should not have abandoned its trains and stations in the way it did. In Japan, it would still be in use today. Greetings to New England from North West England.
Exactly. It would also have served the purpose of maintaining the interstate highways as *defense* highways. You can't defend a nation or quell a rebellion if the expressways are all clogged with traffic.
Amen. Create jobs. Build high speed rail. Save lives. It won't come without a fight. The automotive and oil robber baron mafia as well as the airline industry are bullies and lobby against anything rail related. It's time to fight back. A rail pass at a mere fraction of what I pay to own a vehicle and all of it's expenses.
in the northeast, we have TONS of trains. subways, commuter rails, Amtrak, freight trains. the commuter rail passes right through there, between boston and providence. it's just the fuckin ghetto over there. theres TONS of abandoned buildings and open air drug and prostitution markets over there. My first apartment was in that neighborhood a few years back. one bedroom apartment for 400 a month. it was a complete crack neighborhood. the city declared bankruptcy.
Very very sad. People now don't know how many trolley and rail lines and trains there were prior to the 1950s When automobile industry payed to buy and immediately destroy all local stations and tracks, to make people buy cars Very sad
That happened in L.A. with the destruction of the streetcar system in favour of buses made by GM, whose president, Alfred Sloan, had earlier opposed the fitting of safety-glass to cars (to prevent death and disfigurement of the occupants during pile-ups) because the new glass would eat into those profits. What a guy !
@@qjtvaddict The national crooks-in-charge have orchestrated the build-up of a colossal debt-burden to go on the backs of Leona's 'little people'. It's been said that ex-President Trump made use of some $900,000,000 in aid from the public purse towards his New York property schemes.
normally that’s true but this time it had nothing to do with that, the company was criminally run into the ground by executives forcing a mass closure of dozens of stations and branch lines...
My first job was just a few buildings down from here back in high school, early 2010s. I always wondered when it became abandoned because it looks so run down. Thanks for the video, love learning more about our state!
I have only traveled under that train station once or twice and barely gave it notice. I had thought that the station was to be incorporated into the "new" Pawtucket commuter rail station, and it's sad that they chose not to. I don't see a use for the structure. As you pointed out, the cost to rehab the building far outweighs the structures usability, but then I look at the Attleboro commuter rail station where the Southbound station has been repurposed as a law office and cordoned off from the rail line. Perhaps some private investor will look at the building as prime real estate for commercial office space? Who knows?
BEAUTIFUL JOB on this Jason ! Well done, sir ! I lived in Rhode Island in the 1980's , I remember exploring that old station before Eurbexing existed. That Beautiful Ceiling was still intact when we explored. Sad to see that gone. Thought for sure they would have demolished it. Kinda glad it is there because of it's Historical value. Thank You for expolring this site. I attended HALL INSTITUTE in Pawtucket, Architecture student back then. Umm, you have a New Subscriber !😊
Jason, I’ve just discovered your channel and it’s excellent. Not just the great drone footage. Many (most?) abandoned channels provide little or no information or context about what it is we’re looking at. Your research is excellent. The graphics are super-clear and add detail to what time has erased. Finally, your presentation and voice-overs are just terrific with a very personal touch, like you’re telling the story directly to me. So, 10 out of 10. I’m in Victoria, Canada but you have me interested in abandoned Rhode Island. You’re a gifted filmmaker and you could have quite a future ahead. 👍
So sad, something as appealing as this place must have been and now just left to fall apart. I'm surprised the trains still run below. It would be nice to see it saved like some are being reused. Nice video.
YEah they shut down that bridge I don't remember when they shut that road down, but you know RI...takes them 1 million business days to repair a simple street light
I'm a fan of trains and railroads. It saddens me to see abandoned stations and even worse when when I see graffiti and damage to the building. I like what you do and just subscribed to your channel.
Back when I had a place up in Providence, id take the train to Boston all the time, and it was always interesting to see what became of this station, since you'd see it pass each time
Enjoyed it very much - as a train enthusiast and using commuter rail from Providence to Boston for years, I passed under that, always hoping it would reopen. Would have been interesting if the Acela has passed underneath at 10:30 and at what speed instead of the regular commuter train. First video and you made a subscriber out of me.
As a "vandal" lol in the 80s from CF, I've got a few stories about this station. We'd found homeless sleeping there multiple times, some teens holding some sort of seance with candles and whatever, and the most bizarre was the dead cats and a couple dogs strung up in there. 🤯
Thank you random RU-vid recommendation! Beautifully shot, carefully researched, and incredibly edited video! Excited to binge through the rest of your videos :)
I went in there about 5 years ago and you're right, even in that time it has become a lot more damaged from what it looks like in your footage. Did you go to the clockroom or creepy coal room? great vid!
Just found this on Reddit. I live less than 5 minutes from here on Cross. This is awesome I always wondered about its history. Can’t wait to watch your other videos! Subscribed!
Excellent video. One note- Amtrak didnt initially abandon the station in the 1950s. That would have been the New Haven, which was already struggling financially by that time. In 1969 New Haven was essentially forced to merge with Penn Central as a condition of the merger of The New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads themselves. Amtrak didnt exist until 1971 and didnt end up owning this corridor until 1976.
Michigan Central is having it's turn. Hopefully this one will be next. Beautiful railroad stations like this deserve to be preserved. Even if they aren't record breakers like Michigan Central.
I discovered this place when I stopped at the CVS next door. The architecture was very striking and It's kinda heartbreaking it's in such a state of disrepair.
Thanks for a great video. Hope this grand building will be restored. Here's hoping. Why some morons had to deface and destroy is beyond me. This is a great place to explore.
looks like it to me it was not the weather that took it toll on this beautiful building it was real bad people that destroy this building Jason you the man with your outstanding videos and a great passion for what you do i want to say THANK YOU
That was really cool, I enjoyed this tour and documentary! I had no idea such a huge abandoned station existed over the Northeast Corridor. Although it will never be a train station again, I hope they'll find some use for it.
I used to live down the road from here and i remember going to the flea market with my mom when i was about 3 or 4. I remember a gas station in front of it to. So sad
@@dekon70 You have it. #1 and #3 ran along the north side of the yard, #2 and #4 ran on the south side of the yard. When westbound freights were working down at Silver Spring the Liners ran #3. The four mains ran from Boston Switch to Woodlawn to Charles Street (site of the enginehouse) to Promenade Street thence through the station. Reduced to two mains from Brayton Avenue to Cranston. #3 and #4 from Cranston to West Cranston. I think, though, that the P&W may have removed Northrup Avenue. Conrail was more dump and run. Penn Central reopened the hump at Northrup Avenue in 1969. At Silver Spring there was a stub track in between #1 and #2 used to catch cars that got away from the hump...pretty common. There were yards scattered throughout the Providence Terminal limits plus a short line accessed through the tower at Woodlawn.
It is very sad for something that holds history of the American Travel.. I remember when I was a kid taking the last train ride on the Santa Fa, going through my home town in Kansas. Now the city is using that as a piece of history.. The Santa Fa train track has been turn in to a Walking Trail... The old days will never Return.... Great Video.. But very sad..!!!!!
Thank you for posting a wonderful video. I am a Rhode Islander and I drive a delivery van for my company. I make a pick up in Pawtucket every other month. Where exactly is this? What is the name of the nearest main road? Is it visible from Rt. 95? I am hopeful to alter my route to get a look. For all I know I've been passing by it w/o realizing it! Thanks.
@@jennalovecraftreeves9679 Thanks Jenna! I mentioned this to a friend of mine at work that is a Pawtucket resident and he went looking for it. He mentioned the CVS just like you. Turns out while driving on my route I am near it, but just short by a city block or two. The stop I make is coming up in June so I'll do a little detour. . . my boss will never know!
I don't buy vandals destroyed the place. The floor just needs to be swept and stop leaving trash behind. Maybe this place could become a storage facility
