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• 1 2019-10-04T14:31:59+00:00 Mural Proposal 40 plain 2019-12-14T05:03:06+00:00
  Description of the Mural
  The first three paragraphs are a transcript of the audio.
  The tracks of the West Jersey Depot conceal a tunnel with a history of its own, though with the tunnel partially excavated, one is able to see a mural come into view. Going into the tunnel, traveling across the tracks, one transcends time, going between the past and the present. The train station served as a community center for over a century, and passengers could go through the tunnel to get from the station to the train or vice versa. However, the last passenger train stopped at the station in the 1970's, and the tunnel was later filled in. In the 2010's, the tunnel was rediscovered, only to be filled in due to safety concerns. It remains a symbol of the station's somewhat hidden history.
  
  
  The mural depicts the West Jersey Depot in its past and present glory, with the upper left-hand corner illustrating the station at the present, its beige and brown exterior reflecting its role as a welcome center. Each image at the top of the mural conveys the station's present state, its signs of welcome, its decorations, its pamphlets, its designation as a meeting place for the Glassboro Historical Society. The maps in the upper right-hand corner depict the current location of the train station above historical railroad maps. The tracks cut the mural in half, separating the time periods while connecting them through the railroad.
  
  The lower portion of the mural illustrates the past, a time when the train station was operating as a stop for passengers and freight. Reinforcing the structural design of the station, the main building, the water tower, and the command tower stand in their prior glory. The train car and the tracks emphasize the importance of transportation via railroads in the late 1800's and early-mid 1900's. The image in the bottom right-hand corner bridges the past and present since it is of a modern throw (blanket) with an antique design. Overall, the mural symbolizes the West Jersey Depot's role as a welcoming center for the Glassboro community, from its founding to modern times.
  
  In between the station's period of active use as a stop for trains and its period of revitalization, there was a period of decay, when the station was falling apart and not maintained. The mural does not illustrate this decay. Rather, it focuses on the more positive periods of the station's history, emphasizing its role as a community center.
  
  
  Complexity of Place
  The train station has multiple and contested meanings, experiences, and memories. Culturally, the train station has represented a place between home and work, between home and school, between home and a destination of one's choosing. Though the workers and students had different reasons for taking the train, they shared in the experience of taking the ride on a regular basis, relying on the trains as their mode of transportation. Socially, some people, such as George Armstrong, a Glassboro resident, might have ridden the train with their family to visit places that were far away. For these families, the ride became symbolic of togetherness. However, for immigrants entering the borough through the trains, their presences were not always received by the community. For the families, the train might have been a joyful ride, filled with loving memories. For those who were from minority backgrounds, they might have been prejudiced against, the train station their introduction to a place filled with hostility. For the workers and students, they would ride out of necessity. The memories of the travels might stay with the train riders, leading them to have fond memories with family, regretful memories of prejudice, or perhaps less-than-enthusiastic memories about going to work or school and receiving another assignment. As Maureen St. John, a Glassboro resident, mentioned, the station was symbolic of "home and love." It was comforting for her husband since he grew up near there, and they later moved into his childhood home. He even worked at the station when he was a child. The community had different views of the train station, but it nonetheless served as a welcome center, greeting newcomers and welcoming back residents. Currently, the station has open houses once a month, and they reveal that the station is not static; it is open to interpretation and change. During these open houses, a lot of community members gather to listen to music, to discuss ideas, to reflect on the past, and to overall have a good time.
  
  
  Dynamic, the train station is always changing since it has experienced three periods: one of active use as a stop for trains, one of decay and disuse, and one of revitalization. From 1860 to 1971, the station sold tickets and served as a place for passengers to wait for their trains. They could gather for events and meet people while they waited. From 1971 to the early 2010's, the station was in a state of disarray, with vandalism rampant, the buildings falling apart from lack of maintenance. Once the station was privately bought in the early 2010's, a period of revitalization occurred, with the main building being repainted and the signs of decay being removed. The grounds were cleaned up, and the main building was restructured in order to follow accessibility codes. Through its history, the station has always been in the process of being made, of being shaped, by the community, the riders of the train and the people of Glassboro. In the late 1800's and early-mid 1900's, the community desired trains to make their daily commutes easier. Initially, however, Glassboro residents were hesitant to ride the trains, preferring to use the more-familiar stage coaches. When Rowan University was founded in 1923, students and faculty were able to take trains to get to campus. However, by the 1970's, the popularity of trains had decreased since many people were able to have their own cars for their daily commutes to work and school. From the 1970's to the 2010's, the community did not maintain the station, so it was more easily vandalized. In the 2010's, the community wanted to lift the station from its destruction, rebuilding it. While still a welcome center, the station got a new purpose: functioning as the home of the Glassboro Historical Society.
  
  Global processes have shaped the train station since it was originally built in 1860, a time when the country was experiencing westward expansion and revolutionizing transportation. The Civil War further shaped its initial years by leading many trains to go through the station, carrying supplies. After the war, in 1867, the Millville-Glassboro Railroad merged with the West Jersey system, meaning passengers would not have to change trains when going on long trips. The merger financially benefited the two systems as well. In the early 1900's, private transportation, namely in the form of a personal car, was becoming more available to the common person, which eventually led trains to become less necessary. This trend was widespread, and it led the West Jersey Depot to close in the 1970's. The station's closing also contributed to this process of people using private transportation for their daily commutes since some people who previously took the trains would have to find other ways of getting to work or school. If they went to work or school far from where they lived, they would likely purchase a car in order to make the commute, or they would find another way to get to their destination.
  
  The train station has been imbued with power geometries since the railroad companies, far wealthier than the average person, had control over where they laid track and where they established stations. Individuals had to structure their commutes according to how public transportation was set up. They had to get on and off at certain stops and walk the rest of the distance, for they did not have private transportation with which to make their route more direct. Only after cars had become more popular and more accessible to the average person, namely after Ford's Model T became widespread, did trains start to lose a customer base. As average people gained physical mobility, the West Jersey Depot was used less and eventually closed in the 1970's since private transportation had made the station unnecessary. To the railroad company, it was financially advantageous to close the station since people were gradually replacing their need for public transportation by getting private transportation. However, for those people who did not have cars when the station closed, they were forced to find a new way to complete their daily commutes, illustrating that the railroad company still had more wealth and power than the common person.