The current Odessa Railway Station, which welcomes arriving guests and residents of the city, was erected on the site of the one blown up in 1944.
The former station was built in the 80s of the XIX century by the architect V.A. Shreter under the guidance of an architect from St. Petersburg A.I. Bernadaztsy. It was decided to build the station at the end of the former Italian and now Pushkin Street on the old border of Porto Franco. The front exit was located on Privokzalnaya, and the side exit on Sennaya Square. The shape of the station resembled the letter «P», and by type it was a dead-end, as the railroad lines end in Odessa, located on the sea coast.
In record time by the efforts of many architects and builders in 1950-52 years Odessa railway station was again erected on the former place. The project of the new building belonged to the architect L. M. Chuprin, who embodied in it the triumph of Marxist ideas and socialist eclecticism.
The architectural style of the station is a combination of classicism and realism, a mix of trends characteristic of buildings erected according to the ideas of socialism. Many symbols, sculptures, elements and details of the architectural composition of the station tell about proletarians, the most important dates of the formation of the Soviet Union and the ideas proclaimed by the Soviet power.
The front entrance to the station is decorated with a six-column portico and represents three arches, the columns have a polyhedral form and are decorated with plant ornaments. And the portico of the station is crowned with a sculptural composition, which depicts a group of people — proletarians, below the signature «Glory to the Hero-City». On both sides of the sculpture crowning the main entrance of the building there are two cannons. Such symbolism tells about the heroism that Odessa residents have always shown in crucial historical moments. The main part is flanked by two-storey rectangular buildings, and the whole building, representing the triumph of straight lines and symmetry, seems to be decorated with a crown — a round dome in the style of classicism.
The interior of the station building is incomparable and even more elegant than its exterior. What is only worth its central podkupolny hall, which is rightfully a masterpiece of the Soviet Empire. The hall consists of two floors with a majestic dome and solemn chandelier. The entire circumference of the second floor is decorated with side columns, the capitals of which are decorated with drawings of sickle and hammer — the main symbol of the Soviet state. The side hall also consists of two floors and leads its visitors to the streetcar station, but its peculiarity is not only in this, but also in the transparent glass ceiling consisting of stained glass and giving the hall some mystery. Finding yourself in the middle of the building of the Odessa railway station, you will certainly rather imagine yourself in a palace complex, rather than in so familiar to us fussy and gloomy rooms of the ordinary station.
Originally, the building of the new station was made in gray tones, this color symbolized the indestructibility and firmness of the socialist regime. Now the building appears in light colors, which are more authentic and better reflect the character of the city and the atmosphere in Odessa.
The history of the modern building of the Odessa railway station is not so long compared to other city landmarks. However, the status of this building as a landmark of Odessa is undeniable, as the railway station represents one of the brightest examples of Soviet architecture, carries the ideas of the regime left behind and reminds of a bygone historical period, the significance of which for the whole world will forever remain controversial.