SCI-TECH CHORUS PERFORMS “BELIEVE” AT SPRINGFIELD UNION STATION’S ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING

Springfield students decked the halls at Springfield Union Station, with joyful music for the second annual holiday tree lighting.

The historic concourse was filled with holiday cheer as U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno assisted in lighting the tree and kicking off the holiday travel season.

The Sci-Tech high-school choir, under the direction of Dr. Jose Passalacqua, performed “Believe” from The Polar Express.

Springfield Union Station, owned by the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, is an intermodal transportation hub located near the North End of Springfield. The station serves as the hub for the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, along with Peter Pan Bus Lines, Greyhound Lines, and Hartford Line commuter rail, and is the home of Dietz & Co. Architects and the Hispanic-American Library.

About: First opened 1926, Springfield Union Station featured gleaming terrazzo floors, a restaurant, lunch counter, barbershop, shoeshine parlor, and small shops to service hundreds of daily passengers who boarded up to 130 trains every 24 hours. The station closed in 1973, which also started a 40-year quest by present-day Congressman Richard E. Neal. Neal eventually secured the funding needed to completely renovate and reopen the historic building. Today, Springfield Union Station is not only a train station but also included a state-of-the-art intermodal transportation center with local and long-distance buses and a new parking garage. Office, retail, and restaurant space has been leased.