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Park Station - First (a)
Johannesburg, Gauteng
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Click to view map Coordinates: | [What follows is based on the text of de Jong and Heydenrich 1988 expanded by the talk of WOODGATE (see link in text)] 'Park Halt' was the initial Johannesburg terminus of the NZASM Rand Tram line. As the freight and passenger use grew there were three stations proximate to Johannesburg, namely Kazerne for freight, Johannesburg (Braamfontein) for passengers and Park Halt. However Park Halt, because of its proximity to Noord Street and access to the city centre, became the more popular with passengers. The NZASM soon realised the need for something more prestigious, befitting of Johannesburg's status as the growing economic hub of the ZAR. The design of such a grand building was beyond the capabilities of the local drawing office, so in 1894 it was decided to commission the Dutch architect / engineer, Jacob F KLINKHAMER, an experienced railways architect. His initial design was an ambitious masonry edifice (see de Jong and Heydenrich 1988:90) not realised due to the cuts in expenditure and political unrest on the Rand. The building which eventuated was prefabricated cast and wrought iron and was manufactured in sections in the Netherlands by the firm Pletterij den Haag and shipped out in kit form from Rotterdam to Cape Town. It was then taken by rail to the ZAR to be erected at Park Station. Work started in 1895, with A van Der Ruit as main contractor. The central roofed section had a length of 53m, comprising 21 bays. At the time, the erection of the NZASM buildings was the largest single exercise in prefabricated architecture, bar the structures of the goldmines on the Witwatersrand, at that time in Southern Africa. The architectural technology of Old Park Station mirrors the C19 technology of the railways of the time, with the use of replicated components in iron and rhythmic arrangement of bays. It is a product of the great Industrial Age, when new building technologies were created from pioneering engineering and manufacturing processes. The engineering of the structure is impressive, enabling a lofty structure with comparatively few structural supports. Its components were cast to a very high quality. The wide bay size enabled unobstructed views along the platform, which was important for passenger safety and also enabled flexibility in the planning of the kiosks once housed beneath the central canopy. All vertical surfaces were glazed, while the roof cover was of corrugated iron. HB Murgatroyd was contracted to construct the platform walls, while Asphalt Paving Company laid the tarmac platform floors. As the main point of arrival in Johannesburg, the Old Park Station was the first impression visitors had of the bustling mining town. The scale and architectural character of Old Park Station were intended to impress and convey the sense that ‘You Have Arrived’ - indeed; it was featured on historic postcards of Johannesburg from the turn of the century. Just 10 years prior, Johannesburg was a temporary mining camp. The building of the vast station structure so early on indicates the transition from mining camp to mining town, but the significant investment and grandeur of the architecture also reflects the ambition of the town to become the region’s financial centre. Within just 42 years from its founding, Johannesburg gained city status and became the financial centre for the whole country. The Old Park Station structure remained in active service until its relocation in 1952... (extracted from a record of the talk given on 21 August 2017 by conservation architect Frances WOODGATE at the pilot launch of The Station Market published online by the Heritage Portal). The functions of the C19 station were superseded by the construction of the Second Park Station Main Station. The C19 structure was disassembled and demounted then re-erected in Esselen Park, Kempton Park where a section still remains [See Park Station - First (b): Railways Museum]. A portion was moved to Newtown and re-erected above a concrete structure, where it currently stands [See Park Station - First (c): The Station Market]. All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon. Books and articles that reference Park Station - First (a)
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