The origin and history of La Gare
La Gare (pronounced as ‘Legehar’ in Amharic) means “The Station” in French. It is the name of the railway station in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that connects the capital with Djibouti. Because Ethiopia is a landlocked country, most of its import/export trade was done through Djibouti. Djibouti is a small country in East Africa that used to be occupied by the French. Before the railway was built, it took months to transport goods from the coast to the capital and vice versa. In 1879, a Swiss engineer and advisor of Emperor Menelik (then ruler of Ethiopia) brought the idea of building a railway to facilitate trade. The plan was to begin the construction from the coast and to continue inland, bringing in supplies as the project advances. As it was stated on the Menelik-Ilg concession of 1894, the emperor granted Ilg to establish a company, “Compagne Imperiale des Chemins de Fer Ethiopians [CIE]” to build and operate a railway that ran from Djibouti to Addis Ababa, with the Emperor receiving half of the revenue and a parcel of shares. The construction of the railway started in Djibouti in October 1987.
The line was opened in June 1900 for the first 107 kilometers, up to a border post. At this time, there were some disagreements between the Emperor and Ilg, and the organization transferred to be an exclusive French company, “La Compagnie du Chemin de Fer Franco-Ethiopien de Djibouti à Addis Abeba”. The 779 kilometers of the train tracks were completed in 1915, and the whole line was opened on the 7th of June 1917. At that time, there was no station built in Addis Ababa. The first draft of the design was inspired by the architecture of the French colonial times, with its terraced roof and Moorish style. This draft was rejected by Ras Teferi (later crowned Emperor Haile Selassie) as it was demeaning to a sovereign and independent nation. The project was redrafted, where the initial terrace was replaced by a roof and a bell tower was added over the facade to reflect the churches built in the city. On the platform side, a marquee was fixed to provide shade to the waiting passengers. On the 13th of February 1928, Tafari laid the cornerstone of a building conceived by the architects Lagrave and Paul Barrias.
A New Urban Landscape
The location of the station was a new place situated to the south of the town, covering about 38 hectares. The station was to be situated in a strategic location overlooking the municipality building, connected by a long, straight avenue. The neighborhood with the new station building in the center is composed of workshops, warehouses, a hotel, customs buildings, a clinic, playgrounds, and a residence for the personnel of the company. The construction of the building helped create an urban area with a distinct character. In front of the station building, a bronze statue of the Lion of Judah was installed, embossed with the portraits of emperors and rulers of the country, including Menelik II and Ras Teferi Mekonen, in honor of the Victory of Adwa.
On the 3rd of December 1929, the terminal building was inaugurated in the presence of Empress Zewditu, Ras Teferi, and their delegates, with other foreign officials. The two-story building is made of crushed stone walls, plastered and painted. It had wooden floors. It had arches on the front side with an arcade extending over the length of the building. The backside of the station is parallel to the train tracks, and it serves as a waiting area for passengers. It is one of the best-preserved historic buildings in the city. It has been operating ever since the train service started in Addis Ababa in the 1920s till the year 2008.
Legacy and Transformation
Although the original railway has stopped working and has been replaced by a new route, the train station still stands to this day as a testament to the country’s early days of modernization. Today, the historic La Gare Building has been repurposed as part of a major real estate development. The terminal building now functions as a sales office for the project, with a local coffee shop and outdoor seating area located along the rear facade. A few old train cars remain on the adjacent tracks as nostalgic reminders of the early stages of industrialization of Ethiopia.
La Gare was more than just a train station; alongside the Statue of the Lion of Judah, it acted as a powerful symbol of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and modernization. The station spurred the development of a new district with planned infrastructure and services. It introduced modern urban principles such as zoning, connectivity, and monumental planning, which reshaped Addis Ababa’s layout. Its final design blended European engineering with Ethiopian ecclesiastical forms, which reflects the railway’s history and Ethiopia’s early 20th-century nationalist expression through built form. Built during the age of imperial consolidation and anti-colonial assertion, the station represents Ethiopia’s desire to modernize on its terms. It also coincided with Haile Selassie’s rise, marking the dawn of a new historical and political era. Beyond trade and transport, the station was central to national events, economic modernization, and imperial symbolism. It played a vital role in shaping the physical and historical landscape of Addis Ababa.
Citations:
Fontaine, H., 2012. Un train en Afrique: Djibouti–Éthiopie = African Train. Addis Ababa: Centre Français des Études Éthiopiennes / Shama Books
Giorghis, F. and Gerard, D., 2019. Addis Ababa: The City and Its Architectural Heritage. Addis Ababa: Shama Books P.L.C.
Pankhurst, R., 1963. The Franco-Ethiopian Railway and Its History. Ethiopia Observer, Addis Ababa: Ethiopian Observer Publications, 6(4), pp.342–379.
