Surprise in Abandoned Central Bus Station - Thread

Hello again everybody - this is only my second trip I'm sharing with you. I need to upload more of those! This trip is special, because we found a beautiful surprise in the heart of this beast.

Now, welcome to The Abandoned CBS of Haifa...

BRIEF INTRODUCTION

Built in the 60's with a brutalist design, it was the largest central bus station in northern Israel, and also housed the HQ of the bus operator - that's the tower in the picture.

After three decades of activity, this station was replaced by two stations out of town - to lighten bus traffic inside the city. And once the buses were gone - the entire ecosystem of the station collapsed.

The only business still active here is a strip club - so as you imagine, this place attracts a lot of bad types. However, as you will soon see... Beauty can still be found here.

1.

We start with the platform for national lines. High above the road, this is where passengers would wait for their bus. This once-bustling area is now eerily silent and still.

2.

Most of the old benches and signs were torn off by metal scavengers... But a few remain. Decay is settling in comfortably.

3.

Not my best composition, I included this picture just to show you the strong, understated design of this place. A huge concrete monster, painted in pink, towering over the platform. This, my friends, is a power display of empires past.

4.

Heading down to street-level, we begin to witness the proportions of this concrete behemoth. UE has an amazing sense of adventure, but always with a tragic notion. This is one of those trips when it's as interesting to walk around as it is sad to think of the all the shop owners that were put out of business... Now their legacy is rotting out of memory.

5.

And then, hidden away in this concrete maze we find an extra-ordinary piece of art. It is a scene from a poem by Israel's icon poet, Haim N. Bialik^*, realized in embossed aluminium. The poem is very somber - an ironically fitting mood for this location. What a great surprise... This is one of my favorite photos from the trip.

^{* You might have heard the name Bialik before: the famous actress Mayim Bialik is a distant relative of this virtuoso poet.}

7.

Turn around and you get another one. This piece describes a verse from the Book of Isaiah: "Your valleys be full of chariots". In Hebrew, it sounds a little different - basically saying the country will be filled with vehicles. It's easy to understand why a bus operator would pick this verse.

8.

We can only guess this used to be the main hall. A large, open space within the complex, that connects to most other areas. A bent advertisement post is now the only guest in this hall.

9.

This place goes on forever. Somewhere in these corridors there's an entrance to the tall building standing over the station. It is also abandoned - but it's being monitored and guarded, so we didn't get in at the time.

10.

Finding our way outside, this is probably the terminal for arrivals. Wall-to-wall stores and shops indicate how active this place used to be.

11.

This one's for all of you debris lovers.

12.

A look across this platform.

This is where we must end the tour for now. The place is too big to cover in one post. There are other things I didn't get the chance to show you, like a tunnel leading to the near train station, the tower, some interesting signs, a very long platform where people now park instead of buses. Perhaps one day I will post a second part. For now, stay safe exploring...

Yours,
SW