page_title: Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838–1966)
section_title: The surviving entrance building
hierarchical_section_title: Birmingham Curzon Street railway station (1838–1966) / The surviving entrance building
caption_attribution_description: English: The frontage of Curzon Street Station in en:Birmingham. This was the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway.
context_page_description: Birmingham Curzon Street railway station was a railway station in central Birmingham, England, opening in 1838 and closed to passengers in 1893 but remaining open for goods until 1966. The station was used by scheduled passenger trains between 1838 and 1854 when it was the terminus for both the London and Birmingham Railway and the Grand Junction Railway, with lines to London, Manchester and Liverpool respectively. Excursion trains ran until 1893 after which only goods trains operated until closure in 1966. More recently, the surviving Grade I listed entrance building was used for occasional art events.
  In 2010, a new station, partly on the site of the historical Curzon Street station, was proposed as the Birmingham terminus for High Speed 2. In 2017 plans were approved to redevelop the remaining Grade 1 listed building to turn it into a visitor centre and office space for HS2 and other organisations. HS2 hopes to use the station as the hub for its high-speed line linking London and Birmingham – although these plans are still being developed.
context_section_description: The surviving Grade I listed entrance building was designed by Philip Hardwick as the company’s offices and boardroom. Built in 1838, it is among the world's oldest surviving pieces of monumental railway architecture. Costing £28,000 to build, the architecture is Roman inspired, following Hardwick's trip to Italy in 1818–19. It has tall pillars running up the front of the building, made out of a series of huge blocks of stone. The design mirrored the Euston Arch at the London end of the L&BR. In the original design the building was to be flanked by two arches leading into the station: excavations have revealed that these were never built. The interior was modified in 1839 to accommodate an 'hotel' (the Victoria), although this was probably more in the nature of a refreshment room or public house, and later the booking hall, with a large iron balustraded stone staircase and offices. It is three storeys tall but relatively small. The building was acquired by Birmingham City Council in 1979. A detailed paper from Historic England can be found at the Warwickshire Railways website..
  In 1841 an hotel extension - known originally as the Queen's Hotel - was added to the northern (Curzon Street) side of the building, but was eclipsed (and renamed the Railway Hotel) when a new Queen's Hotel was opened next to New Street station. The Railway Hotel closed in June 1900  for conversion to railway offices  and was demolished ca. 1980 by Birmingham City Council. On 27 January 1847, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established with George Stephenson as its first president in the Queen's Hotel; a plaque commemorating the centenary of the event was placed inside the station building when the hotel was demolished.
  Ansells Brewery had a purpose built public house built opposite the station in 1897. This was called The Woodman and it is still open in 2020.
  Hardwick's station building was acquired by Birmingham City Council in 1979. and was used by a University of Birmingham student theatre group, the 'Three Bugs Fringe Theatre'. The building was also proposed as a home for the Royal College of Organists, but the proposal foundered in 2005 for lack of funds. A Parcelforce depot to the rear of the station was demolished in May 2006.
  A commemorative plaque was installed next to the station entrance in 1988 which reads: "THIS PLAQUE COMMEMORATES THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST LONDON TO BIRMINGHAM TRAIN AT THIS STATION ON MONDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 1838".
  The building is unused except for the occasional art exhibition. Birmingham City Council had hoped to refurbish the building and find an alternative tenant. It was expected to be the centrepiece of the City Park and Masshouse development scheme, which is located around the site, most of the surrounding buildings having been demolished.
  These plans have been overshadowed by the High Speed 2 proposal. The new station might have incorporated the surviving entrance building  but the latest plan leaves the building outside the HS2 station's footprint.
caption: The surviving entrance building, in 2006
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