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Gifu Station used to be a lot smaller than it is now.



Up until 1996 the old at-grade (street level) station platform was still in use, but plans had been in place to increase capacity since the end of the 1980s. Around 1989 construction officially began for a new elevated Gifu Station complex that could handle three times as many trains per day. The first of what would eventually be six elevated platforms officially opened the last week of November, 1992. In Japan for barely a week, I was on hand to witness the event.



17 years later, after what turned out to be two decades of constant reshaping, the Gifu Station complex was finally completed as of today, September 26, 2009. In what is somewhat of a full circle for me, I was again on hand to witness the event.



All station buildings, the taxi stand, the bus stop, even the adjoining street have been completely altered during the course of my adult life. The old two-floor station building -- which had a fast food joint and a newsstand on the first floor, and a dingy furniture store on the second -- has been swept away, replaced by an expansive taxi stand and station square. The street level platforms are long gone. A huge but largely uninhabited mall-like string of shops joins the elevated platform, leading eventually to the 43-floor Gifu City Tower. A U-shaped elevated walkway now makes it easy to walk from the other train station (the Meitetsu, or Nagoya Railway) across to the square. The builders made sure to green the place up as much as they possibly could, adding lush grass, trees, landscaping stones, even a fake stream on an island in the middle of the bus stop.



It's quite an odd feeling for me to think that I've been here during all of this, to see all this change occurring.



About 10 years ago when I started cutting my teeth on digital photography I soon made it a personal mission to document as much of this change as I could, with the eventual goal of amassing a long-term chronicle of how my adopted hometown is constantly evolving. I became interested in rephotography, or shooting the same spot over and over again as time passes. I'm sure most of you have seen my efforts to document



So, without further ado, let us now see:



The Story of Gifu Station





Gifu Station has been around in some form since 1887, two years before Gifu itself was incorporated as a city. The station building existed in several forms before the site was completely destroyed in July, 1945 during the Gifu Air Raid.



The Gifu Shimbun newspaper recently printed some photos of the site at various points in the past. Here it was in 1952 as the American occupation force's RTO (Railroad Transportation Office, upper left of photo), sporting -- as the newspaper notes in its commentary -- "a large neon sign that stayed on even during electricity shortages".







After the end of the occupation, city officials promptly pulled the office down and built a new station building in its place. The below is a composite panorama of two pictures, taken in 1958, that I found on the internet. I apologize to the person from whom I snarfed them. (Click for larger.)







The building remained the face of the town for the next 45 years, until this author happened upon it. By that time, in the early 90s, Gifu Station was a rather bland, square building with a couple of shops in it.







Eventually, it started going to rot. The city elders decided that it was time to Do Something About It, and started a multi-decade, multi-skillion-yen effort to revitalize the Face of Gifu City. First, they built a six-platform elevated railway station behind the original, stopping along the way to demolish all the street-level tracks and build entirely new overpasses for the new train lines.



In November, 1992, I was on hand to see the brand new platform opened for the first time.







Here is the same spot after the passage of 17 years. This spot might be the most unchanged of the entire city.







After all the trains had been transferred to the new overhead platforms, the empty husk of the old station building became superfluous. All the little shops closed up and moved on, leaving their shuttered carcasses behind. I sneaked in and caught a photo of the interior of the structure the night before it was bulldozed in late 2003:







Then, the real work began. The old Gifu Station was flattened. The entire bus stop and taxi stand in front of the station was totally dug up. The old, rotting parking structure -- mom-in-law tells me it sat on the site where the old telegram depot used to stand -- was razed, and preparations began for the building of an enormous 43-story shop and apartment complex, to be called the Gifu City Tower.



Edit: Here is an early concept drawing I found on my PC that I scanned out of a magazine in 2003. It's significantly different from the final product in that there are many more trees in this drawing; the completed square is much different; and the drawing includes a street trolley station (center right), which means this drawing was prepared before Meitetsu decided to scrap the trolley line, which they did on March 31, 2005.







So for years, the station was a complete mess.







The tower started going up.







In 1992, I managed to get a shot of the buildings in front of the station from the platform. (Click for larger.)







By 2004 it looked like this. The NEC sign above was now the DoCoMo sign in the below photo. Hitachi had updated its logo a bit. This is well before the overhead walkway was anywhere near being done; the grounds were all parking lots. (Click for larger again.)







Here, the walkway is partway done, and so is the tower.







Then things started to look nice. Greenery was added.







The tower was completed, two years behind schedule.







The walkway was opened to great fanfare.







And then, today, the finishing touches were made to the station square. It was all, at long last, complete.



The station platform is to the right in this picture -- taken from the Gifu Tower observation deck. The station square can be seen at the bottom of a Grand Staircase that descends from the second floor, at the center of the U-shaped elevated walkway.







Here is a cropped closeup of the square, all decked out with chairs for the grand opening ceremony. The elaborate staircase is at right.







The crown jewel of Gifu Station (lower left in the above shot) is now the golden statue of Oda Nobunaga, the military commander who warred his way to a united Owari region and, after conquering the town of Inokuchi and ousting its resident daimyo, gave it a new name: Gifu.











This year is the 120th anniversary of Gifu's incorporation as a city. I wonder if I'll be able to see the 150th. That's 30 years from now -- I'll be nearly 70. I certainly hope I live that long. I will continue amassing a photographic record of Gifu's evolution, which of course is ongoing even now.



For example, they still have a lot of work to do on the south side of the station. The Wrong Side of the Tracks, if you will.







This is a "massage" *cough* parlor. What an eyesore. They Ought to Do Something About That.





. Gifu Station used to be a lot smaller than it is now.Up until 1996 the old at-grade (street level) station platform was still in use, but plans had been in place to increase capacity since the end of the 1980s. Around 1989 construction officially began for a new elevated Gifu Station complex that could handle three times as many trains per day. The first of what would eventually be six elevated platforms officially opened the last week of November, 1992. In Japan for barely a week, I was on hand to witness the event.17 years later, after what turned out to be two decades of constant reshaping, the Gifu Station complex was finally completed as of today, September 26, 2009. In what is somewhat of a full circle for me, I was again on hand to witness the event.All station buildings, the taxi stand, the bus stop, even the adjoining street have been completely altered during the course of my adult life. The old two-floor station building -- which had a fast food joint and a newsstand on the first floor, and a dingy furniture store on the second -- has been swept away, replaced by an expansive taxi stand and station square. The street level platforms are long gone. A huge but largely uninhabited mall-like string of shops joins the elevated platform, leading eventually to the 43-floor Gifu City Tower. A U-shaped elevated walkway now makes it easy to walk from the other train station (the Meitetsu, or Nagoya Railway) across to the square. The builders made sure to green the place up as much as they possibly could, adding lush grass, trees, landscaping stones, even a fake stream on an island in the middle of the bus stop.It's quite an odd feeling for me to think that I've been here during all of this, to see all this change occurring.About 10 years ago when I started cutting my teeth on digital photography I soon made it a personal mission to document as much of this change as I could, with the eventual goal of amassing a long-term chronicle of how my adopted hometown is constantly evolving. I became interested in, or shooting the same spot over and over again as time passes. I'm sure most of you have seen my efforts to document what's happening to the old Parco building site ; I've been trying to do this with several other locations as well.So, without further ado, let us now see:Gifu Station has been around in some form since 1887, two years before Gifu itself was incorporated as a city. The station building existed in several forms before the site was completely destroyed in July, 1945 during the Gifu Air Raid.The Gifu Shimbun newspaper recently printed some photos of the site at various points in the past. Here it was in 1952 as the American occupation force's RTO (Railroad Transportation Office, upper left of photo), sporting -- as the newspaper notes in its commentary -- "a large neon sign that stayed on even during electricity shortages".After the end of the occupation, city officials promptly pulled the office down and built a new station building in its place. The below is a composite panorama of two pictures, taken in 1958, that I found on the internet. I apologize to the person from whom I snarfed them. (Click for larger.)The building remained the face of the town for the next 45 years, until this author happened upon it. By that time, in the early 90s, Gifu Station was a rather bland, square building with a couple of shops in it.Eventually, it started going to rot. The city elders decided that it was time to Do Something About It, and started a multi-decade, multi-skillion-yen effort to revitalize the Face of Gifu City. First, they built a six-platform elevated railway station behind the original, stopping along the way to demolish all the street-level tracks and build entirely new overpasses for the new train lines.In November, 1992, I was on hand to see the brand new platform opened for the first time.Here is the same spot after the passage of 17 years. This spot might be the mostof the entire city.After all the trains had been transferred to the new overhead platforms, the empty husk of the old station building became superfluous. All the little shops closed up and moved on, leaving their shuttered carcasses behind. I sneaked in and caught a photo of the interior of the structure the night before it was bulldozed in late 2003:Then, the real work began. The old Gifu Station was flattened. The entire bus stop and taxi stand in front of the station was totally dug up. The old, rotting parking structure -- mom-in-law tells me it sat on the site where the old telegram depot used to stand -- was razed, and preparations began for the building of an enormous 43-story shop and apartment complex, to be called the Gifu City Tower.: Here is an early concept drawing I found on my PC that I scanned out of a magazine in 2003. It's significantly different from the final product in that there are many more trees in this drawing; the completed square is much different; and the drawing includes a street trolley station (center right), which means this drawing was prepared before Meitetsu decided to scrap the trolley line, which they did on March 31, 2005.So for years, the station was a complete mess.The tower started going up.In 1992, I managed to get a shot of the buildings in front of the station from the platform. (Click for larger.)By 2004 it looked like this. The NEC sign above was now the DoCoMo sign in the below photo. Hitachi had updated its logo a bit. This is well before the overhead walkway was anywhere near being done; the grounds were all parking lots. (Click for larger again.)Here, the walkway is partway done, and so is the tower.Then things started to look nice. Greenery was added.The tower was completed, two years behind schedule.The walkway was opened to great fanfare.And then, today, the finishing touches were made to the station square. It was all, at long last, complete.The station platform is to the right in this picture -- taken from the Gifu Tower observation deck. The station square can be seen at the bottom of a Grand Staircase that descends from the second floor, at the center of the U-shaped elevated walkway.Here is a cropped closeup of the square, all decked out with chairs for the grand opening ceremony. The elaborate staircase is at right.The crown jewel of Gifu Station (lower left in the above shot) is now the golden statue of Oda Nobunaga, the military commander who warred his way to a united Owari region and, after conquering the town of Inokuchi and ousting its resident daimyo, gave it a new name: Gifu.This year is the 120th anniversary of Gifu's incorporation as a city. I wonder if I'll be able to see the 150th. That's 30 years from now -- I'll be nearly 70. I certainly hope I live that long. I will continue amassing a photographic record of Gifu's evolution, which of course is ongoing even now.For example, they still have a lot of work to do on theside of the station. The Wrong Side of the Tracks, if you will.This is a "massage" *cough* parlor. What an eyesore. They Ought to Do Something About That. Tags: photography

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