The other day we noted plans to repurpose Denver’s unused train station into a hotel. Turns out it’s not the only former train station that’s finding new life:
The heyday of railway travel may have passed, but the nostalgic allure of architecturally striking infrastructure has ensured that it’s not the end of the line for many historic station buildings. We recently learned that Union Station in Denver, which opened to passengers in the late 19th century, will be transformed into a trendy hotel, with adjoining restaurants and a beer hall, by 2014. Click through our gallery to see how other train stations have been repurposed into thriving cultural centers, libraries, and more.
Train Station Library
Library attendance numbers in the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands were dwindling. A public service organization decided to bring books to the people instead of waiting for people to come to the books. They created a public library in part of the Haarlem train station, providing a literary oasis for busy commuters.
![Union Station in Denver was thought by many to have seen its final days, until it was announced the unused train station will be transformed into a trendy new hotel.
The station was originally built in 1894 and frequented by 80 trains a day at its peak during the 1920s and 30s.
Plans for the hotel include 112 guest rooms which will be attached to the station’s main terminal, [which] will become home to a series of four restaurants, as well as a huge beer hall.
(via Abandoned Train Station Repurposed Into Modern Hotel - PSFK)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/ebfac8dceb9723948593a627119b2cfa/tumblr_ml5pffmJ1A1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
Union Station in Denver was thought by many to have seen its final days, until it was announced the unused train station will be transformed into a trendy new hotel.
The station was originally built in 1894 and frequented by 80 trains a day at its peak during the 1920s and 30s.
Plans for the hotel include 112 guest rooms which will be attached to the station’s main terminal, [which] will become home to a series of four restaurants, as well as a huge beer hall.
(via Abandoned Train Station Repurposed Into Modern Hotel - PSFK)
![Okay, this silly but it’s Friday, and I feel compelled to note “what’s easily the most creative (and nuttier) adaptive re-use project we’ve seen,” as one observer puts it:
The Attendant in London converts a Victorian-era public lavatory into a posh new cafe. [It] preserves the erstwhile loo’s period urinals, produced by Doulton & Co. in 1890, which were cleaned (duh) and polished to a sparkling white finish. A long wooden plank was wedged into the upper halves of the urinals to create continuous table space along the back wall. The urinal walls function as table partitions, while the banquette showcases their surprisingly plastic forms.
Aside from the sculptural toilets, the original tiling on the floors and walls were also restored.
Final judgment: “surreal and more than a little gross.”
Agreed. But still.
(via At This Cafe, Drink Coffee Alongside Period-Perfect Urinals - Eating Pretty - Curbed National)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/28e550444174f34aade8851fa249c7ff/tumblr_mkkyw1EBnW1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
Okay, this silly but it’s Friday, and I feel compelled to note “what’s easily the most creative (and nuttier) adaptive re-use project we’ve seen,” as one observer puts it:
The Attendant in London converts a Victorian-era public lavatory into a posh new cafe. [It] preserves the erstwhile loo’s period urinals, produced by Doulton & Co. in 1890, which were cleaned (duh) and polished to a sparkling white finish. A long wooden plank was wedged into the upper halves of the urinals to create continuous table space along the back wall. The urinal walls function as table partitions, while the banquette showcases their surprisingly plastic forms.
Aside from the sculptural toilets, the original tiling on the floors and walls were also restored.
Final judgment: “surreal and more than a little gross.”
Agreed. But still.
(via At This Cafe, Drink Coffee Alongside Period-Perfect Urinals - Eating Pretty - Curbed National)
A farm storage bin turned into a pool house? Yes, please.
(via FarmHouseLife)
“Edel was interested in ways of bringing back manufacturing jobs to the city,” explains Melanie Hoekstra, director of operations at The Plant. The building is uniquely suited to food production; it contains food-grade materials (these allow for legal and safe food preparation) because of its meatpacking history. Instead of combining farming with other types of manufacturing, The Plant is sticking entirely to food—and lots of it.
I think we posted something about this project last year, emphasizing aspects that are recurring Unconsumption topics: adaptive reuse — the conversion of existing buildings to new uses — and urban farming. (Though I’m not finding an earlier post about it in the Unconsumption archive. Ah, thanks, Tumblr search.) Anyway, it’s great to see that the project’s progressing nicely.
![Continuing our celebration of National Library Week:
Jackson [New Hampshire] Public Library partnered with the local historical society to re-erect the Trickey Barn, which dates to the 1850s but was dismantled in 2008, for use as the new library building. It replaces an 800-square-foot facility that lacked plumbing. The new structure offers Wi-Fi, plenty of seating, and is accessible to people with disabilities.
Architect: Denis Mires, P.A. The Architects
(via American Libraries Magazine)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2765i0vaE1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
Continuing our celebration of National Library Week:
Jackson [New Hampshire] Public Library partnered with the local historical society to re-erect the Trickey Barn, which dates to the 1850s but was dismantled in 2008, for use as the new library building. It replaces an 800-square-foot facility that lacked plumbing. The new structure offers Wi-Fi, plenty of seating, and is accessible to people with disabilities.
Architect: Denis Mires, P.A. The Architects
A deconsecrated church in Southeast England becomes a self-built dream home.
More adaptive reuse examples here.
(via npr)
11 New Uses for Old Churches - Mental Floss
Cool piece highlighting several re-purposed old churches. I like this brewery/restaurant in Pittsburgh.
via tayloransley
This list is a good start, though there certainly are more than 11 new uses for old churches. In Houston alone, there are at least three former churches that have been converted to uses not mentioned on the list: one church currently serves as a public library (disclosure: I worked for the architectural firm that renovated the building, and I know that link doesn’t feature a great photo of the Houston Public Library’s interior!); another serves as a non-profit art house/microcinema that screens films in its church space; and a third one is a venue for opera performances.
What are the “new uses for old churches” in your community (or elsewhere) that you would add to the list?
Related: Some earlier Unconsumption posts on adaptive reuse.
![In Baltimore, the fire-damaged, 30,000-square-foot historic American Brewery building sat empty for 30 years until a $24+ million renovation turned it into offices for Humanim, a non-profit social service agency.
At the core of the building rises a multistory, 10,000-bushel grain silo constructed of stacked 2-by-6-foot yellow pine boards. This unique structure was maintained, given flooring, and opened up to make impromptu seating areas. Snaking through the building are what appear to be vestigial air ducts; periodic Plexiglas panels placed on them allow glimpses of an automated system of belts and scoops once used to convey grain to the upper floors. And on the first floor, a massive steel tank likely used to heat a mix of malted barley and water called “wort” has been carved up to serve as a curvilinear work area [pictured above]. Where large beer tanks were removed in the renovation, their diameters and positions are memorialized with gray circles of carpeting.
The building, built in 1887, is on the National Register of Historic Places; following its reopening in 2009, additional redevelopment has taken place in the surrounding neighborhood.
Restoration architects: Cho Benn Holback + Associates. Photos, by Paul Burk, and building information via Urbanite Baltimore.
See also: Earlier Unconsumption posts on adaptive reuse here.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly42efjmme1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
In Baltimore, the fire-damaged, 30,000-square-foot historic American Brewery building sat empty for 30 years until a $24+ million renovation turned it into offices for Humanim, a non-profit social service agency.
At the core of the building rises a multistory, 10,000-bushel grain silo constructed of stacked 2-by-6-foot yellow pine boards. This unique structure was maintained, given flooring, and opened up to make impromptu seating areas. Snaking through the building are what appear to be vestigial air ducts; periodic Plexiglas panels placed on them allow glimpses of an automated system of belts and scoops once used to convey grain to the upper floors. And on the first floor, a massive steel tank likely used to heat a mix of malted barley and water called “wort” has been carved up to serve as a curvilinear work area [pictured above]. Where large beer tanks were removed in the renovation, their diameters and positions are memorialized with gray circles of carpeting.
The building, built in 1887, is on the National Register of Historic Places; following its reopening in 2009, additional redevelopment has taken place in the surrounding neighborhood.
Restoration architects: Cho Benn Holback + Associates. Photos, by Paul Burk, and building information via Urbanite Baltimore.
See also: Earlier Unconsumption posts on adaptive reuse here.
Scouting An Abandoned Cold War Missile Base Hidden In The Adirondacks « Scouting NY (via felixsalmon)
You really should click through and look at the photos. The missile silo extends nine stories below a modest-looking house (that’s flanked by an airplane landing strip and hangar) located in a state park. If you owned the property (it’s for sale, btw), what would you do with it?
Related: A November 2011 Forbes story about the property.
(via felixsalmon)
![Long-neglected diving pool will be repurposed as an amphitheater
For nearly 30 years, the dive pool at Astoria Park in Queens, New York has sat empty and unused. Once used as a training ground for aspiring Olympians, it is now an eyesore, while the adjacent swimming pool, the oldest and largest in New York City, is as popular as ever. [But now] … the diving pool is set to be transformed into a one of a kind outdoor theater.
The result will be an outdoor performance space reminiscent of Ancient Greek theaters, but against a uniquely New York backdrop. Astoria Park sits on the East River, between the Triborough and Hell Gate Bridges, with a view of the Manhattan skyline.
(via TreeHugger)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lwd3nz6AfU1qzv12bo1_400.jpg)
Long-neglected diving pool will be repurposed as an amphitheater
For nearly 30 years, the dive pool at Astoria Park in Queens, New York has sat empty and unused. Once used as a training ground for aspiring Olympians, it is now an eyesore, while the adjacent swimming pool, the oldest and largest in New York City, is as popular as ever. [But now] … the diving pool is set to be transformed into a one of a kind outdoor theater.
The result will be an outdoor performance space reminiscent of Ancient Greek theaters, but against a uniquely New York backdrop. Astoria Park sits on the East River, between the Triborough and Hell Gate Bridges, with a view of the Manhattan skyline.
(via TreeHugger)
Florida College Considers Using Two [Retired] Riverboats as Dorms -- Engineering News-Record Southeast | McGraw-Hill Construction
Eckerd College [in St. Petersburg, Florida] is floating an unusual idea for student housing: two Mississippi riverboats.
The concept is still in its exploratory stages, but two cruising barges that operated along the Mississippi River for 10 years recently “became available at a very attractive price,” said Bill McKenna, Eckerd’s director of planning, development and construction.
“Both boats would fit very nicely in a pocket of land we already own,” McKenna said.
The barges likely will be dismantled for scrap metal if they are not purchased by early next year, so officials plan to move quickly, said dean of students James Annarelli.
The school has hired environmental and legal consultants to explore the project’s feasibility before making a offer. The total coast to convert the barges to dorms — including purchasing the boats, dredging, docking and mitigation — is estimated at $5 million to $6 million.
The barges are each 295 feet long, 55 feet wide and 30 feet high. One would house about 95 students in single-occupancy rooms with private bathrooms, plus three additional rooms for residential assistants or staff.
The other barge has a theater, a 220-person dining room with a full kitchen, a conference room and other amenities. It would be used as a student activities center.
(Spotted on Twitter via Doreen Overstreet, @doreeno.)
