The present (and third) station building Antwerp-Central was built between 1899 and 1905 as a head-end station. The building consists of a steel platform roofing and a large station building carved in natural stone. The steel platform canopy was constructed between 1895 and 1899 according to plans by engineer Clément Van Bogaert by the Compagnie Centrale de Construction.[2] The canopy is 43 metres high (height needed to catch the smoke from the locomotives), 186 metres long and 66 metres wide and accommodated ten end tracks. The stone station building (reception building) was built between 1899 and 1905 by Louis Delacenserie (assisted by Charles Poupaert) in eclectic style (a combination of style elements from earlier periods). Delacenserie himself spoke of "baroque-medieval eclecticism". He was inspired by the old Lucerne railway station building from 1896 and by the Pantheon in Rome. After the laying of the foundation stone in 1895, work progressed so slowly that people in Antwerp started talking about a 'silent station' style. The monumental building gradually emerged, with the 75-metre-high dome as its highest point. The richly decorated symbolism included the Antwerp coat of arms, the Belgian Lion and the initials of King Leopold II. The station was opened on 11 August 1905.
I have been photographing since my youth. When I was 18 I bought a second hand Minolta XE-5 and after that I bought more. I have always been loyal to Minolta and later Sony. All the cameras and lenses I ever bought I kept.
In terms of photography I like EVERYTHING...
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