Canaan Union Station 3 - a photo on Flickriver

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This large wooden railway depot in North Canaan, Connecticut dates from 1872 and was intended to serve two railroads--the Housatonic Railroad and the Connecticut Western Railroad. The Housatonic ran north-south through the Housatonic Valley and the Connecticut Western followed an east-west orientation. Both lines eventually were incorporated into the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (later a part of Penn Central). Passenger service ended 99 years after construction in 1971. It was slated for destruction but an Amtrak executive bought it, turning the structure into a center for retail businesses. In October 2001, over half of the building was destroyed by fire. In 2003 The Connecticut Railroad Historical Association bought the depot and began restoration, a project that was realized until around 2014. I stumbled onto the building in 2015 and took numerous photos of this and a nearby diner only to lose most of the photos. In 2018 Great Falls Brewing Company opened for business in the old depot.

The board and batten structure is a symmetrical gem. Two 90-foot long wings, one for each of the two railroads sharing the property, form a right angle where they join the central 3-story tower. The roofs of the wings on the first level are low hipped and distinguished by prominent brackets supporting wide canopies; the second level roofs, each with a chimney, are more steeply pitched and have slender brackets. Windows are not of a uniform size throughout; windows on the second level are round-headed but less-so on the first floor where they have a slight curve and are accented by decorative molding. On the tower a more prominent arched molding is used to accommodate the narrower arched windows. Topping the tower roof is a railroad related weather vane.

The second floor of the structure had several rooms and was suitable for living quarters. A dining room or lunch-room also was located on this level. Railroad telegraphers used the 3rd floor of the tower, able to see the trains clearly from their vantage point.

Listed independently on the National Register of Historic Places April 26, 1972 (ID#72001317), Canaan Union Station was also, in 1990, included as part of the Canaan Village Historic District. The nomination form is at npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/72001317_tex

Other links:
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canaan_Union_Depot
www.canaanunionstation.com/p/photos.html (with photos)
www.canaanunionstation.com/p/history.html

Also the web site for Great Falls Brewing Company:
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www.greatfallsbrews.com/home
www.greatfallsbrews.com/about

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Taken in: United States / Connecticut / North Canaan / Canaan (show map)

Taken on: October 9, 2015

Tags:

architecture

building

commercial

transportation

depot

station

Union Depot

railroad

railway

wood

Housatonic Railroad

Connecticut Western Railroad

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad

Penn Central

Amtrak

retail

business

Connecticut Railroad Historical Association

restoration

Great Falls Brewing Company

brewery

board and batten

symmetrical

right angle

tower

wings

roof

hip

brackets

canopy

window

fenestration

round-headed

molding

decorative

ornamental

arch

weather vane

living quarters

dining room

lunch-room

restaurant

telegrapher

vantage

National Register of Historic Places

New England

North Canaan

Litchfield County

Connecticut « less

Sets appears in: • 800-899 Views • Columns, Posts and Brackets more » • Canaan Union Station • Connecticut « less

Groups appears in: • Connecticut “Land of Steady Habits”. • Views: 800 more » • National Register of Historic Places • New England Amateur Photographs • New England Photo • Arch Daily • Connecticut Architecture • 800 Views Unlimited « less

Camera: Canon PowerShot SX130 IS, f/5.0, 1/160 sec, 24mm, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot SX130 IS
Aperture:	f/5.0
Exposure Time:	0.006 sec (1/160)
Focal Length:	24mm
ISO:	125
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	PhotoScape
Show full info

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