Amtrak, thru it's Great American Stations website and project has a good history of the current station, and the one it replaced:
http://www.greatamericanstations.com/St ... ation_view
Opened in 1975, the current rail station is the fourth to stand in the general vicinity, and plans were drawn up by the local architectural firm of Antinozzi Associates.
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Manufacturing created thousands of jobs and attracted immigrants who flocked to the city and built communities based on shared experiences and culture. As the city expanded, the area around the old station became a dangerous, congested mess. Trains arrived at street level, thereby interacting with pedestrians, carriages, and newly invented automobiles, and tracks crossed one another, resulting in back-ups. To solve this problem, the New Haven spent approximately $5 million to elevate the tracks through downtown.
The raising of the track bed demanded a new station, which was constructed in 1904-1905 on the site of the present BTC bus terminal. The station stood at the apex of a wye, with the New Haven’s main line heading east across the river and the leased Housatonic line continuing northward up the riverbank. Designed by local architect Warren R. Briggs in a simplified Romanesque style, the base of the station below the viaduct was composed of granite while the two upper floors were of buff brick. Passengers had to ascend to the second level to access the platforms which were sheltered by extensive canopies.
From afar, the station was identified by its 115 foot high tower capped with a pyramidal red slate roof. Its facades had grouped trios of elongated but narrow round-arch windows while its four corners sported copper gargoyles that provided a playful element long remembered by many travelers. Inside, the brightly lighted two story waiting room was covered by a beamed ceiling from which hung large metal chandeliers. Closed in 1973, the station remained standing six more years until it was destroyed in a suspicious fire.
This should help with the dates - Amtrak's site has some really good info about the current and previous (and in some cases) future and or remodeled stations. It is a work in progress - so some stations are missing and or routes - using the State index gets you to the most current info (as far as I can tell).
Gil, known as Bill somedays ...