Northern Station

The present building of the Estación del Norte in Valencia was designed by Demetrio Ribes and opened in 1917 to replace an earlier station of 1851. The station is named for the Ferrocarrils del Nord railway company but it is located in fact on the southern side of the old city. The entrance building has a ‘U’-plan across the front and down both sides of the platforms. Architecturally, it is designed in a Viennese Secessionist style. The façade is decorated with images of agriculture in the region of Valencia. The interior was planned for passenger halls on the ground floor and offices above. It has colourful mosaics on the walls and tiled floors – even the structural columns are topped with ceramic sculptures of fruit in majolica. The mosaic panels in the station restaurant are particularly rich, across the ceiling and walls. The steel and glass train shed behind was designed by the engineer Enrique Grasset Echevarria and made in Madrid.