As a person with wanderlust, I am constantly thinking of other places: landscapes to experience, things to see, opportunities to learn culture and history. However, since I’ve started taking photos earlier this year, I’ve come to appreciate places nearby in my own city. By my count, I’ve spent time in at least five new spots in the last four months. I want to share one with you today.
Richmond, Virginia, has two train stations. Like most locals, I’ve always used the squat and dingy Staples Mill Road Station in the suburbs. It’s the station closest to my house and all of the trains stop there, and so, despite living here for almost twenty years, I’ve never ventured down to the Main Street Station in the Shockoe Bottom section of the city. I decided to change that.
Main Street Station was built in 1901 in the Renaissance Revivalarchitectural style. Early twentieth-century Richmond was a busy railroad junction serving lines branching in every direction. Railroad stations back then were a civic declaration - a statement to the world of the city’s worth. It was only fitting for the growing city to have a station that reflected its importance.
Just east of downtown, Shockoe Bottom’s low elevation and position along the James River make it extremely prone to flooding. To protect their infrastructure, the railroads built tracks elevated high above the streets and tobacco warehouses; the Triple Crossing - one of two places in North America where three railroad lines cross at different levels one spot - is only 1,000 feet south of Main Street Station.
In 1972, Hurricane Agnes caused the James River to flood the station so severely that Amtrak built Staples Mill Road Station and moved all of it stops there in 1975. Fires damaged Main Street Station further in 1976 and 1983. After making a cameo as a shopping mall in 1985, the state converted the station to office space the following year.
After the construction of a flood wall in Shockoe Bottom during the 1990s, the city and state refurbished Main Street Station as a station once more and train service returned in 2003. The restored station is part of a revitalized neighborhood full of loft apartments, restaurants, and trains passing overhead.
I thought the morning sun would produce some interesting photo opportunities. I arrived in Shockoe Bottom at 6:30 AM on a Monday morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten. The station didn’t open until 8:00, so I spent about ninety minutes walking around the mostly empty streets. There were some young people walking to work or out with their dogs. I photographed the station and some spots around it.
I was waiting at the doors of the station when they were unlocked. As the sun climbed over Church Hill, I was able to snap some shots in the passenger areas before they filled.
Here are some photos:
