Atlántico railway station
Atlántico railway station (Spanish: Estación del Ferrocarril al Atlántico) is a railway station and historic building located in San José, Costa Rica, declared as Architectural Patrimony of Costa Rica by decree 11664-C of 29 July 1980. [1]
Atlántico railway station Estación de Ferrocarril al Atlántico | |
---|---|
Exterior of Atlántico station, 2010 | |
Location | Avenida Jenaro Cardona, Carmen, San José Costa Rica |
Coordinates | 9.93459°N 84.06886°W |
Operated by | Incofer |
Line(s) | Interurbano |
History | |
Opened | 1808, 2011 |
Closed | 1996-2011 |
Built in 1808 and opened until 1996, it was the main railway station between San José and Limón, where the main freight port is located.
The emblematic building combines victorian, neoclassical and baroque architectures, with some modernist details.
In 2011 a restoration effort by the Ministry of Culture and Youth took place to reopen the station as a railway station for the urban train between the cantons of San José, Alajuela, Cartago and Heredia.
Shapes, Spaces and Sounds Museum
Between 2002 and 2008 the station was the location of the Shapes, Spaces and Sounds Museum (Spanish: Museo de Formas Espacios y Sonidos).
The Shapes (Formas) room of the museum featured numerous sculptures in wood and stone whilst the Spaces (Espacios) room featured scale models of buildings and the ruins of Ujarrás.[2] The Sounds (Sonidos) room had a collection of musical instruments on display. The museum also had a notable collection related to the history of railways in Costa Rica, including Locomotive #59, a 1939 steam locomotive imported from Philadelphia and a bust of Tomas Guardia who established the railway in the country.
The museum closed in October 2007.[3]
References
- Fernández, Andrés (2013). Los muros cuentan: Crónicas de arquitectura histórica josefin. Editorial Costa Rica. pp. 57–62. ISBN 978-9968-684-31-6.
- Baker, C.P. (2005). Costa Rica. Dorling Kindersley Eye Witness Travel Guides. p. 71.
- Fonseca Q., Pablo (18 February 2008). "Museo de Formas, Espacios y Sonidos dejará de existir". Nacion. Retrieved 10 July 2015.