Richardson died unexpectedly in 1886 and the remaining station design work was transferred to the Boston-based architecture firm of Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge.

[4][5] The Richardsonian Romanesque building features a Dutch gable roof with wide eaves and colonnade porticos that extend out east and west along the tracks over the low platform.

The walls are made of lightly colored rusticated stone, with window and door frames, sills and lintels of contrasting brownstone.

[citation needed] Chatham Union Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 1, 1974.

[2] In addition to active freight service, Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited long-distance passenger train between Chicago and Boston passes through Chatham without stopping.

[citation needed] The station-house was renovated and reopened in 1999 to serve as a branch of the National Union Bank of Kinderhook.