Interesting background info there John. With our nation, A and B Listed Buildings a law makes preserving or keeping an inspired building gem in existence. We also have a National Heritage agency that does remarkable work too.
I think bec\ause of the vast freefall and decline of passenger rail,in the US it puts things a bit more in the shade as being out of sight out of mind?
And very sad and true as you put in your last paragraph here. The great beautiful stations were usually knocked down to make way for urban renewal, which happened during the 1950s, 60s and early 1970s. After everyone suffered from shock and horror as their beautiful downtown areas and big stations were knocked down to make way for glass and concrete, did they realize it was better to preserve them. Today there are many historic buildings that have been renovated into shopping malls, condominiums, loft apartments, and smaller business spaces.
When I was living in Andover, my brother had his small screen printing shop in Dundee Park. Dundee Park was originally the Smith and Dove Flaxen Mills. These very unique buildings once were situated on a dam, which was leveled sometime in the 1950s, but otherwise the majority of the buildings were still intact. There were a couple of builds which were beginning to sag somewhat due to neglect, but they could not be razed because of their historic nature.
One hair-brained developer though she could walk in and knock down one of the buildings to put in some parking spots, which were difficult to come by. The local hysterical association stepped in, and by court order, forced her to stop! She could fix up the buildings, like replace some broken brickwork and the roofs, but could not knock anything down. She was stuck with a big contractor bill for the job, but the buildings sure look nice!
I have to admit it was kind of funny when I told the construction guys they were wallowing in poison ivy. This rather nasty plant, which is related to the cashew and mango, puts out a nasty sap that causes blisters and awful itching. These guys went running for the hills as their foreman got on the radio with her!
John