© 2023 WSHU
NPR News & Classical Music
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Haven's Union Station Turns 100

New Haven Union Station in October 2019
Zheng Zhou / Wikimedia Commons Image
/
New Haven Union Station in October 2019

Union Station first became a hub for train travel in New Haven 100 years ago on Thursday and Connecticut officials were excited to have something to celebrate.

Politicians and transportation leaders celebrated the centennial by announcing a city and state agreement to fund the train station for the next 55 years.

Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, said the plan will help the city’s economic development, too. “We will build our city and our state back from economic crisis and do so in a way that brings everyone with us. We’re in this together, and together we will improve our public infrastructure, make our cities a place of economic excitement, create opportunity for every resident and invest in the future of our young people,” he said.

The partnership includes an agreement to redevelop the train station and surrounding area into a hub for shopping, eating, living — and even parking.

Cassandra Basler, a former senior editor at WSHU, came to the station by way of Columbia Journalism School in New York City. When she's not reporting on wealth and poverty, she's writing about food and family.