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Park Station - First (c): The Station Market
Newtown, Johannesburg, Gauteng
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Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Park Station - First (c): The Station Market | | |||||
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Click to view map Coordinates: | The Old Park Station [Park Station - First (a)] survived the redevelopment of the Park Station complex purely because it could be dismantled and moved. It is unusual for heritage structures to be moved from their original location and context; it is even more unusual for them to be moved twice! This purpose-designed feature secured the structure’s longevity beyond its original use. Whilst historic significance is often diminished when heritage structures are separated from their original site context and use, the Old Park Station actually gained visual prominence and landmark status when it was moved to this elevated podium in 1993. It is still in close vicinity to the railway lines it originally served and remains recognisable as a station platform structure. It also now has relational significance owing to its proximity to the Mandela Bridge, which is another landmark structure. Appropriately for a transport hub, this station is probably the most travelled structure in Johannesburg. As a giant kit of parts, it was shipped from Rotterdam to Cape Town, then the ZAR to its original site at Park Station, about 1km east of here. And its travels didn’t stop there: in 1952, the structure was dismantled and moved 45km to the Transnet railway training college at Esselenpark [Park Station - First (b): Railways Museum] to make way for redevelopment of the Park Station complex. In 1993, the structure was dismantled again and brought another 45km to this site in Newtown, with the ambition of it becoming a Railway Museum. The total distance travelled is approximately 15 250km – not far off twice the full length of the African continent. The full structure is 21 bays long, yet the section we are gathered under is 9 bays short. The two ends, of 4 bays and 5 bays respectively, are still at Esselenpark. [Extracted from the record of a talk given on 21 August 2017 by conservation architect Frances WOODGATE delivered at the pilot launch of The Station Market (see The Heritage Portal)] Books and articles that reference Park Station - First (c): The Station Market
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