The Boehlert Center at Union Station is a
train stationA train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...
served by
AmtrakThe National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and the
Adirondack Scenic RailroadThe Adirondack Scenic Railroad is a tourist railway located in Adirondack Park that runs during the summer months from Utica to Thendara, and from Saranac Lake to Lake Placid...
in
Utica, New YorkUtica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
. It is owned by
Oneida CountyOneida County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 234,878. The county seat is Utica. The name is in honor of the Oneida, an Iroquoian tribe that formerly occupied the region....
, and named for retired U.S. Rep.
Sherwood BoehlertSherwood "Sherry" Louis Boehlert is a retired American politician from New York. He represented upstate New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 until 2007. Boehlert, a Republican, was considered to be a member of the party's moderate wing. In 2003, Utica Union Station was...
, R-New Hartford.
The station was built with the Italianate style. Inside is a restaurant and a barber shop, one of the few barber shops in a train station today. The 15000 square feet (1,393.5 m²) waiting room's 47 feet (14.3 m) high vaulted ceiling is supported by 34 marble columns. The station's blueprints called for the importing of columns that originally adorned Grand Central Station in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Eight large benches are heated with steam pipes and vents.
At one time, the waiting room also contained three ticket windows, an information office, 15 pay telephones, a
Western UnionThe Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States. Its North American headquarters is in Englewood, Colorado. Up until 2006, Western Union was the best-known U.S...
office, two shoeshine stands, a bar and grill. The Western Union Office is no longer there.
There used to be a tunnel connecting the waiting room to the platforms. Today, the platforms are connected via an aerial walkway.
History
The station was built between 1912 and May 1914, replacing an older structure dating from 1869. The building was designed by New York architects Stem and Fellheimer. Construction involved the rerouting of the
Mohawk RiverThe Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
. Built as a
New York Central RailroadThe New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
station, in 1915 it became tenated by the
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western RailroadThe Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
and the
New York, Ontario and Western RailwayThe New York, Ontario and Western Railway, more commonly known as the O&W or NYO&W, was a regional railroad with origins in 1868, lasting until March 29, 1957 when it was ordered liquidated by a US bankruptcy judge. The O&W holds the distinction of being the first major U.S...
as well, those two companies abandoning their structures.
The station's restoration began in 1978, but refurbishing/restoration work continues to this day.
Amtrak
The station sees multiple daily departures of the following trains:
- Empire Service
- Lake Shore Limited
The Lake Shore Limited is a daily passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States. The train runs between Chicago and Albany, NY, where it divides into two sections that provide thru-service to New York and Boston...
- Maple Leaf
The Maple Leaf is a 875-kilometre passenger train route operated jointly by Via Rail and Amtrak from New York City's Pennsylvania Station to Toronto's Union Station via Albany, Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo. The train travels during the day and takes approximately 12 hours for the 875-kilometre ...
A total of eight Amtrak trains use the station daily.
Adirondack Scenic Railroad
The
Adirondack Scenic RailroadThe Adirondack Scenic Railroad is a tourist railway located in Adirondack Park that runs during the summer months from Utica to Thendara, and from Saranac Lake to Lake Placid...
operates a
heritage railwaythumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
from Utica to
Holland PatentHolland Patent is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 461 at the 2000 census. The village is named after a land grant....
,
RemsenRemsen, New York is the name of two locations in Oneida County, New York, USA:* Remsen , New York* Remsen , New York...
, and
Old ForgeOld Forge is a hamlet on New York State Route 28 in the town of Webb in Herkimer County, New York. Old Forge was formerly a village that dissolved its incorporation, but remains the principal community in the region. Old Forge forms an extensive business district, primarily directed at tourism...
on a seasonal basis.
Bus
BusA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
companies serving the station, one of the first intermodal facilities in the state, include the following:
- CENTRO of Oneida
- Greyhound Lines
Greyhound Lines, Inc., based in Dallas, Texas, is an intercity common carrier of passengers by bus serving over 3,700 destinations in the United States, Canada and Mexico, operating under the well-known logo of a leaping greyhound. It was founded in Hibbing, Minnesota, USA, in 1914 and...
- Birnie Bus Services
- Utica-Rome Bus Company
- Adirondack Trailways
- Coach USA
Coach USA LLC is a holding company for various American transportation service providers providing scheduled intercity bus service, local and commuter bus transit, city sightseeing, tour, yellow school bus, and charter bus service...
/Chenango Valley Bus Company
Notable places nearby
- Matt Brewing Company
F.X. Matt Brewing Company is an American family-owned brewery at the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in Utica, New York. It is the second oldest family-owned brewery in the United States, as it has been brewing beer since 1853...
- New Hartford, New York
New Hartford, New York may refer to:* New Hartford , New York, in Oneida County* New Hartford , New York, within the town of New Hartford...
- New York Mills, New York
New York Mills is a village in Oneida County, New York, USA. The population was 3,327 at the 2010 census.The Village of New York Mills is partly in the Town of Whitestown and partly in the Town of New Hartford. It is a western suburb of the City of Utica.-History:There were three mills which gave...
- Whitesboro
Whitesboro is a village in Oneida County, New York, United States. United States. The population was 3,943 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Hugh White, an early settler.The Village of Whitesboro is inside the Town of Whitestown....
- Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
External links