SPRINGFIELD – The barbershop was a fixture at Union Station during its heyday and there will be a reminder of that in the form of three restored 1930s barber chairs that were found in the train station.

A renovated Union Station is expected to open later this year as a regional transportation hub for taxis, Pioneer Valley Transit Authority buses, intercity buses, Amtrak and commuter trains for Connecticut.

Chief Development Officer Kevin Kennedy said the chair would be one of three restored chairs that will be part of an exhibit developed in conjunction with the Springfield Museums detailing the transportation history of the city.

Joe Carvalho, the historic consultant for the exhibit, said Springfield as the home of the Duryea car, the Indian Motocycle and the GeeBee aircraft was “a very important transportation hub in terms of invention.”

Kennedy said the large clock that hung in the waiting room is being restored as well as the one remaining wooden bench, the chalkboard on which train departures and arrivals were annotated.

Mayor Domenic Sarno assembled some veteran city barbers, including his father Alfonso Sarno, for the unveiling of the restored chair.

The restored chair was the product of York Street Industries, Ag Mar – which undertook the chrome of the chair – the Springfield Facilities Department and the Springfield Redevelopment Authority, which is overseeing the Union Station project.

The leather was replaced as well as all of the chrome and enamel surfaces. The hydraulics were also overhauled

Will McGregor, the chair of the SRA board, said, “it’s been an exciting time. We’re waiting for the end of the year.”

Union Station was opened in 1926, but was closed in 1973. Amtrak operated in a small fraction of the complex after that date.

Congressman Richard Neal thanked Sarno for his support of the Union Station project, something that has been a priority for Neal since 1973 when he conducted the announcement of his first political campaign at the station. He said he had never given up hope for the renewal of the station.

Chris Moskal, the executive director of the SRA, said no barbershop planned as yet as being one of the vendors for the new station. “If there was interest, we’d love to have it,” he said.  

Looking at the chair, Sarno said, “You know the secrets that were told or the problems that were solved in a barber chair.”

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