When rail shaped the city I stumbled across La Gare while researching Addis Ababa’s rail history and quickly realised that this old station explains far more than just transport. Completed in 1917, Legehar was the terminal of the metre‑gauge railway linking Addis Ababa to the port of Djibouti. For decades, this line was Ethiopia’s most important external connection, shaping trade, travel, and even how the city imagined itself in relation to the world. The station’s architecture still reflects that era, marked by strong French influence tied to the Djibouti corridor. Rail was not just a way to…