A tram depot on Školjić

address: Školjić
Period: Historicism
Kind: Immovable material heritage
Century: 20
Year: 1928
Purpose: for tramway

The city got electricity in 1895, and already in 1899, the first tramway was put into operation. The tramline led from the bridge over the Rječina to the Danubius shipyard. The renewal of the tram route and the introduction of a two-lane tram in the 1920s showed just how important the tram route was at the time. To be able to store the new trams appropriately, a tram depot was built at Školjić in 1928. It is a two-storey rectangular building with a façade containing notable, high, mesh-glazed windows, placed under a semi-circular roof. There are three rectangular windows in the central part, and the building is entered through two entrances placed on the left and right side respectively. The building was originally designed for a tram depot and therefore its functionality was achieved through “hangar”-type construction. Besides reinforced concrete structures, the basic building materials are brick and stone which is why this facility fits into the aesthetics of a nearby slaughterhouse. The tram depot could fit ten tram cars. It was used both for storage and for their repair. The depot building is now used as a car repair shop for the bus company Autotrolej.

Valorization:

The building is located within Autotrolej at Školjić and is used as a workshop for bus repairs.  Its exterior has not been subject to significant alterations. The interior has been completely devastated and adjusted to its new function. Only traces of tram rails, which can be discerned on the worn-out parts of the asphalt in front of the depot, have been preserved of the former tram.