View source for Downtown Springfield Railroad District

{{short description|Historic district in Massachusetts, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Downtown Springfield Railroad District
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| image = Springfield Union Station, July 2016.jpg
| caption = [[Springfield Union Station (Massachusetts)|Union Station]]
| location = [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]
| coordinates = {{coord|42|6|31|N|72|35|25|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Massachusetts#USA
| area =
| built = 1875
| architect =
| architecture =
| added = May 27, 1983
| mpsub = Downtown Springfield MRA
| refnum = 83000745<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2008a}}</ref>
}}
The '''Downtown Springfield Railroad District''' is a [[historic district (United States)|historic district]] encompassing a group of early 20th century railroad-related buildings in [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], USA.<ref name=NRHP>{{cite web|url=https://mhc-macris.net/details?mhcid=spr.bc|title=NRHP nomination for Downtown Springfield Railroad District|publisher=Commonwealth of Massachusetts|access-date=2013-12-08}}</ref> They are in an area roughly bounded by Lyman, Main, Dwight and Frank B. Murray Streets. The district includes the [[Union Station (Springfield, Massachusetts)|Union Station]], the old freight house, commercial warehouses and a retaining wall and bridge designed in part by [[H. H. Richardson]].<ref name=NRHP/> The district was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1983.<ref name="nris"/>
==Description and history==
Springfield was from an early date a significant transportation crossroads, with traffic on the north-south [[Connecticut River]] and the east-west [[Boston Post Road]] as major transportation routes. With the arrival of railroads in the 1830s, the city became a major transit point for freight moved on railroads along similar routes. Its early train stations were located at the northern end of downtown, on the west side of Main Street near the main rail junction. A major former freight house, built in 1875, is located north of the tracks and east of Main Street. In 1889, the grade-level crossing of Main Street was replaced by a stone arch bridge. It and the stone embankment wall on the north side of Lyman Street were designed by [[H. H. Richardson]]. This change was accompanied by the construction of new stations on the east side of Main Street, which were consolidated into the single large Union Station in 1924. That building, vacant for many years, underwent rehabilitation in 2016-17 and again is a transportation hub.<ref name=NRHP/>
Adjacent to Union Station stood the Hotel Charles, at 11 stories a major landmark. It was demolished in 1997 after a fire gutted its interior.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/01/vintage_photos_hotel_charles.html | title=Vintage photos: Hotel Charles in Springfield | date=15 January 2016 }}</ref>  Across the tracks from Union Station, the south side of Lyman Street was lined by a series of freight warehouses, all of brick construction, and varying in height and style.<ref name=NRHP/> A number of these still survive, but some have been demolished since the National Register listing.
==See also==
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Springfield, Massachusetts]]
* [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}}
[[Category:Historic districts in Hampden County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Springfield, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts]]