Central Stations 中央车站

Almost all metropolitan cities have a central railway station, which building has likely become a famous landmark in the city. I have been to the central stations in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Chicago and Pittsburgh. In my opinion, the central stations are the heritage from the industrial revolution or the indicator of the rapid growth of a city in a new era. Of course, Detroit is an exception. Michigan Central Station was abandoned and threatened to be demolished. This National Historic Place has witnessed the bloom and decline of the Michigan's auto-based economy. No wonder it is so hard to find Michigan Central postcard nowadays.

Fortunately, I have had cards of two famous central stations in the world: Japan's Tokyo and the Netherlands' Amsterdam Central Stations -- they even have something in common. The Amsterdam Centraal was opened in 1889, while the Tokyo Station in 1914. It was rumored that the latter was fashioned after the former one. Although there's little evidence to support the rumor, it's obvious that the two grand brick-buildings do look alike. To me, it's more amazing to see two buildings half world apart independently developed this resemblance. The great minds of the architects did think alike. Some says the two buildings are of Renaissance revival style. But I can't find the reference. I am always confused with the classifications of architecture styles.

Tokyo Station 东京站

Amsterdam Centraal 阿姆斯特丹中央车站

(Notes to myself: Amsterdam Centraal is twinned with Liverpool Street Station in London, UK. I'd like to pair them up in my postcard collection. I'll try to buy other central station's cards from US and even China, regardless of classic or modern architecture styles.)

世界各大城市基本都会有一座著名的火车站。我去过纽约、费城、华盛顿、波士顿、芝加哥和匹兹堡的火车站。在我看来，它们都是工业革命在这些城市留下的烙印。底特律其实也是有密歇根的中央车站的。但是早已废弃，甚至还要被拆除。这也代表了当地经济的衰退。

我有幸得到了两张中央车站的明信片：日本东京站和荷兰阿姆斯特丹中央车站。这两座像个半个地球的车站，甚至还被人认为有很大的相似性的。据说，1914年开通的东京站可能是效仿1819年运行的阿姆斯特丹中央车站。但是此说法证据不足，权当小道消息罢。