Former Panama Canal Railway station, Monument building at Plaza 5 de Mayo, Panama City, Panama
The Former Panama Canal Railway Station is a neoclassical building at Plaza 5 de Mayo that features dual entrances and interior corridors resembling Pennsylvania Station in New York. The structure contains ceremonial halls, ticket windows, and waiting areas arranged throughout its organized layout.
This third railway station at the site was constructed between 1912 and 1913 to serve the growing transportation needs of the canal zone. Operations continued until 1960, when control shifted from United States administration to Panamanian management.
The station's layout reflects social divisions of its era through separate waiting areas designed for different population groups. Visitors can observe how the building's internal organization reinforced these distinctions in daily use.
The building sits at Plaza 5 de Mayo and is accessible via multiple public transportation routes in Panama City. Guided tours help visitors understand how the railway connected to canal construction and shaped regional development.
From 1976 to 2005, the station housed the Museum of Panamanian People, later renamed the Reina Torres de Araúz Anthropological Museum. This transformation made the space an important venue for sharing cultural knowledge with the public.
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