Looking back as the calendar turns to 2011, King Street Station had a good year. Decades of neglect have been peeled back, and new strong bones put in place to carry the station for another 100 years. Twelve months ago a 1960s-era acoustic-tile drop ceiling covered the upper windows of the main waiting room and the faded, original historic plaster work. An awkward, blocky, brick enclosure stuck out of the west side of the station. It was closed to the public, housing a broken escalator. And the station’s former Jackson Street Plaza was still a private parking lot.
A year later key milestones are accomplished to return the station to its full former glory. With the low ceiling tiles removed the original, ornate plaster work is visible allowing a restored waiting room to be imagined. The escalator enclosure was demolished and removed, revealing the west side of the station and clearing the path for the station’s historic marble staircase to be re-opened next year. And the old concrete plaza has been torn out and a new steel structure built to resist a seismic event. Crews will finish pouring a new concrete deck in the next few days, paving the way for a public plaza with lighting, trees, and paved walk way straight into the station’s main waiting room.
Check out the project’s Website for more photos and updates.