Thursday, August 5, 2010

The ruined Jerusalem Railway Station, a historic resource lost.

The derelict Jerusalem Railway Station (תחנת הרכבת ירושלים‎ - Tahanat HaRakevet) is situated between Derech Hevron and Derech Bethlehem, near the beginning of the German Colony of Jerusalem. Erected by the Ottoman Turks in 1892, it comprised a part of the Jaffa–Jerusalem railway and ceased operations in 1998. It has suffered from both general neglect and deliberate vandalism, as recently as 2010, when arsonists set fire to its interior. As a result, the Jerusalem municipality has sealed off access to the structure. These images were taken prior to the most recent arson.

As recorded by a historical marker, the station was targeted by the Irgun during the British Mandate period.
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Around 2006, an artist installed a series of painted steel panels, in a noble attempt to restore some visual aesthetics to the ruin. While they survived unscathed for a time, eventually vandals defaced them with graffiti and slashed a gash in one of the panels.



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Crazed paint on a wooden arch facing the railroad platform.

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In the dark interior, an unexpected gem: a fresco of  Jerusalem's Old City walls, complete with the municipal "Coat-of Arms".

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Fresco detail: the municipal "Coat-of Arms".

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