[Originally Written: November 11, 2005] The other day I returned to South Station. As I rode the escalator up and the interior gradually came into view, I felt a sense of nostalgia grip me tighter and tighter.
For those who aren’t familiar with the Boston area landmark, it’s the train station located in downtown Boston. I first entered South Station riding up from the connecting subway station on that same escalator about ten years ago when I had recently moved to the Boston area.
Now, as it did then, the station has the look of well-worn majesty. The beautiful brickwork frames and supports the edifice. The dust on the floors shimmers in the sunlight cascading through the large windows located high above. The busy magazine stand capped with an old-fashioned ironwork design is still in the same place, as is the black schedule board that makes that distinctive fflip-fflip-fflip sound when its display changes.
I’m different than the twenty-four-year-old me who first set foot here. She was engaged to be married, living in an apartment in West Somerville, and trying to figure out what to do with her career. The older of her two brothers was still alive. She was much more idealistic and still hadn’t done a tremendous amount of self-examination. Her body, life, and soul hadn’t yet been changed forever by having children.
I don’t recall why I came to South Station for the first time ten years ago, but my most recent visit was because I’m meeting with an important client in the financial district. As I stand in the center of South Station looking my corporate best, I can’t help but smile as I think about the other versions of me that this station has seen: wearing a suit with sneakers and running to catch a train, in jeans with my hair in a scrunchie waiting to meet a friend, in business casual attire with work associates looking for a quick lunch.
For the first time in my life, I feel like I understand better the motivation of those who work tirelessly to preserve landmarks like South Station. In an ever changing world, exposure to a place that remains untouched by time provides the opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate its impact.
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