New life for old Joburg train station
NEWTOWN – If you head over the Nelson Mandela Bridge and turn into Carr Street in Newtown, a gorgeous steel and glass structure will rise from the horizon.
Currently not in use, the old Johannesburg train station has a surprising history and a bright future ahead.
According to Steam-in-action.com, Joburg’s first railway station was designed by Dutch architect, Jacob Klinkhamer and was originally manufactured in Rotterdam, Holland during 1896 and 1897, before being sent to South Africa. Although it was named the Johannesburg Station, many locals referred to it as Park Halt, which is what Park Station was known as during that time.
However, since the Gautrain was built recently, with its very own Park Station on Smit Street in the Johannesburg CBD, the original metal structure was re-dubbed the Old Johannesburg train station. According to Wikimapia.org, the structure was dismantled and rebuilt many times, with many people joking that it was usually the trains that moved, not the station.
There are reports that in 1952, the steel canopy was dismantled and re-erected in Kempton Park as a training centre for railway staff, as part of the ‘renewal of Park Station’.
However, it was moved a final time during 1995, and rebuilt on the Transnet site in Newtown. There were rumours that the building would be refurbished and transformed into a railway museum, but sadly, nothing happened and then plans fell away. It’s a pity as the structure itself is a masterpiece of white metal and clear glass, all tall arches and small, square windows, topped by a mint-green domed ceiling.
Although now it stands abandoned and somewhat decaying, facing vacant, dry land, hope is not lost for this iconic piece of architecture. From 25 March, it will host the Station Social Market, a collaborative market of music, fashion, culinary arts and live entertainment.
Read more about the market here.
