Centraal Station
February 22nd, 2006
This is on the main train station in Amsterdam. Train station. The U.S., with our addiction to oil (and apparently presidents who love to service their equally addicted to profits oil company pimps) could give a shit about our train stations. Oh sure, we’ve got the odd crap modern art adorning a few places (I’m excusing the MUNI metro stations in San Francisco, at least the few in the Financial District) but I believe the U.S. is too young to care as a country. We hate you naughty rail travel!
I don’t understand what’s up with the protective wire you might see on the sculpture. There is major construction going on in front of the station, but could it be vandal protection? Protecting pedestrians from falling sculpt?
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:04 pm
Naughty rail travel deserves a spanking.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
I believe the wire is to keep pigeons off. A lot of sculptures had this chicken wire stuff on them throughout europe.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:05 pm
Maybe preventing the depositing of bird poop?
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
it’s pigeon protection: most out-door art/scupture/pretty facades in Europe are covered by it. it’s so that you, taking a picture of it or walking beneath it don’t get guanoed upon and it, a priceless and often very old work of art and history, doesn’t get covered in fertilizer. I don’t know what it’s actually called, but that’s what it’s for.
In addition, as a current denizen of Los Angeles and a former resident of the Greater Munich Metropolitan Area, I agree with your assessment of the US’ public transportation (or lack thereof). Seattle and San Francisco aren’t bad but are nothing like Munich, Paris, London, or any other smaller European city.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:32 pm
It’s to keep the pigeons off, no?
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:39 pm
I’m guessing the wire is for pigeons?
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:45 pm
The protective wire is probably to keep birds off of the sculptures. All that bird poop is a pain to wash off. I’ve seen similar wire on buildings here on the east-coast.
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:46 pm
I wonder if the wire mesh is in place to protect the stone from pigeons and their waste. I believe that this has been a problem for some of Europe’s most important statues, causing erosion and permanent damage.
I am enjoying the pictures and stories immensely.
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:16 pm
I’ll second the bird theory. Those things wreak havoc on statues.
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:18 pm
The wire mesh is indeed used to protect the stone from pigeons. Very frequently seen in Europe, the acidic nature of the birds droppings basically “eats” into the stone statues and destroys them permanently.
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:50 pm
Bastard Pigeons! Birds suck.
(that would be a joke, bird lovers)
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Yes, it indeed it because of pigeons. The bird poop is rather acidic and to prevent doves from landing on the sculpture these nets are installed. You can see them on almost every major historic building. Bird poop is a big problem wherever lots of pigeons settle down. I have been to places (disused bunkers where no people have been for years, even decades), and there you can find spots with almost a foot of bird poop. Talk about a crappy experience
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:51 pm
Hi Jon,
It is to protect the rail lovers from falling notagia. I’m glad you and your wife weren’t hit. However, I also like the suggestions that the wire keeps vandals out as well as protects the stone from bird crap. Perhaps, on a lighter note, it is also to keep children from tossing food into the mouths of the statues and as a trellis for climbing roses.
February 22nd, 2006 at 8:30 pm
Flying rats those pigeons.
February 22nd, 2006 at 10:55 pm
The wires keep the evil Pigeons from landing on the statues and ruining them. Unfortunately while it does keep the actual birds off, it doesn’t seem to keep their poop off.
I’m so glad that you are sharing your Amsterdam photos and experiences here. They make me want to go back and remember that I actually did have a good trip there even though I thought I was having a bad time.
February 23rd, 2006 at 1:52 am
Even better than the chicken wire to keep off pigeons is the “pigeon spikes” - little metal spikes glued to every flat surface you can find. They’re all over Europe, and definitely all over Toronto now as well.
As for train stations: I think the difference between the US and Europe is that, with the advent of air travel, it suddenly became WAY WAY WAY more efficient to travel by air, so all the train stations became neglected, eventually being torn down (with notable exceptions, ie Grand Central in NYC, and Union in Washington DC, and I’m sure there are many others). But since Europe is so tightly packed, it’s still rather useful to keep the trains around, so the train stations are kept in better repair and are generally more used.
Although, with RyanAir bringing so many cheap flights to just about anywhere in Europe, I could see a similar fate befalling the European train stations as well.
February 23rd, 2006 at 5:22 am
You’ve obviously never been to Union Station here in Washington, DC. Gorgeous. Don’t believe me? Check these Flickr galleries:
http://flickr.com/photos/avenue44/tags/unionstation/
http://flickr.com/photos/jocieposse/tags/unionstation/
http://flickr.com/photos/brownpau/tags/unionstation/
(None of which are my photos. Just found browsing Flickr.)
February 23rd, 2006 at 6:04 am
yeah - birds suck - what you said!
I totally agree with your comments on public transpo too… and what’s worse is i live in the “motor city” which means all four wheels of hell will have to freeze over before there will be a working model of alternative transportation in my future.
February 23rd, 2006 at 6:27 am
Yep, wire defends against bird poop. They have it all over the National Cathedral too.
February 23rd, 2006 at 6:38 am
Hope you don’t mind that I’m avoiding the pigeon conversation!
I agree with you that we’re too young as a continent to care about rail travel.
It’s a catch 22 really. For rail to become more affordable, more people need to use it. In order for more people to use it, the cost needs to come down. In Europe, they NEED to use rail. We don’t NEED to yet.
One thing that boggles my mind is that Canada fabricates a lot of the high speed rail cars used in Europe, yet we don’t use them here. It makes no sense.
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 am
Uh, have you never SEEN the exquisite beauty that is the Amtrak station here in Charleston, SC?
Filthy linoleum! Patrons with no teeth! Cockroaches and rats! Molded plastic chairs in bright orange and a vending machine that only dispenses expired HoHos! Centraal Station’s got nothing on THAT.
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:35 am
one word about why more people use trains in Europe than in the US (well alright, actually four):
the. price. of. gas.
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:35 am
Go to Grand Central Station during the summer months when the sun is going down-my husband and i go and have drinks at one of the bars upstairs and watch the rush-hour crowds-with the pink light coming through the windows, it looks like poetry in motion.
February 23rd, 2006 at 8:49 am
Actually, air travel really had very little to do with the destruction of the railroads in the US. The motor giants (e.g. GM) bought up the railways and had them destroyed. Yay, oil. Too bad we’re pretty much out of it (i.e. fucked big time).
February 23rd, 2006 at 9:34 am
Pigeons? Bah. The protective wire is there for when the sculptures COME TO LIFE and start attacking innocent gawking tourists. No one has ever asked THEM if it was okay to take pictures, and that TOTALLY pisses them off. Local authorities know this, and put up the wire to avoid bloodshed and therefore a reduction in tourism. Poor sculptures, trapped in their wire cages. You’d think someone would protest.