History, architecture, and heritage in the railway station of Almería (1892-2017)

Abstract

[EN] The majority of the railway infrastructures life cycle is singularly long-lived. Thus, in case of the reference buildings, as is often the way with travellers buildings, their use far exceed the century. In addition, many of these stations were born in the 19th century with a symbolic representation load with which still they have not parted. This is the reason for which many analyses referred to railway heritage are emotionally charged.

In our study of case, the railway station of Almeria, 125 years after it began to be constructed, remains without use since in the year 2000 there was replaced by the attached intermodal station, which has led at present to an intense debate on his preservation and reutilization. It is a building that, in spite of possessing a series of singularities and architectural relevancies of great interest, the process of patrimonial protection is unfinished, which is a clear threat for the integrity of the building.

As it is exhibited in the text, in spite of the modesty of the railway company that built it, the building stands out on most of the principal stations of this country. We do a brief managerial note of the company that entrusted its construction and later we study closely the architectural program of the building, the different interventions made and his legal current situation.