Maputo Railway Station
José Ferreira da Costa (major façade and completion) · Maputo, Mozambique · 1916
Maputo’s central railway station presents rail infrastructure as a monumental civic gateway. The current building combines a long symmetrical façade, arcaded ground floor, ornate roofline and a large central dome facing Praça dos Trabalhadores. Construction began in the early twentieth century; the station opened before the final architectural works and façade were completed. The result is both a working transport building and one of Maputo’s principal urban landmarks, illustrating the importance of railway development to the city’s colonial growth and its continuing metropolitan structure.