Curzon Street Station, the historic Birmingham landmark in the heart of the Eastside development, is to be boarded up as attempts continue to find a use for it.

The Grade I listed building will have boards nailed on to the inside and outside of the ground floor windows and doors on the advice of the city council's insurers.

The move signals the end of a series of art and photography exhibitions recently held in the 169-year-old building and is a stark reminder of the city council's struggle to find a suitable use for the site.

Curzon Street Station, designed by Philip Hardwicke and opened in 1838, had been earmarked as the new home for the Royal College of Organists, with plans for a 270-seat concert hall and a £750,000 organ. But the plans were abandoned in 2005 after the institution failed to raise the funds for the move.

After the recent exhibitions, campaigners said they were hopeful it would eventually find use as a photography museum or heritage centre.

In September, it was home to the Station photography exhibition, which included pictures of Robert F Kennedy's funeral train by US photographer Paul Fusco; photos from Birmingham City Library's archive and work by Stephen Morgan capturing the Severn Valley Railway.

Nathan Tromans, co-organiser of Station and course director of Birmingham City University's BA degree in Visual Communication, said: "Personally, I had aspirations to see Curzon Street as a permanent venue for photography and, particularly, the Birmingham archive.

"I hope the fact that it has been boarded does not mean the end of that aspiration."

Mr Tromans said that exhibitions held in Curzon Street had been well received by the city's creative community. A number of arts organisations were interested in managing the building but lacked funding.

He added that he felt the city council might be nervous about committing to another development project for Curzon Street. He said: "With all the development of arts and education facilities in Eastside, Curzon is crying out to be utilised by the city.

"But the whole area is due for such a dynamic change I think there's nervousness about making the right decision for the building."

Professor Andrew Kulman, director of postgraduate studies at BCU's department of Visual Communication, agreed the site was "crying out for an artistic response".

Prof Kulman organised Curzon Street's last art exhibition, Cure Zone, showcasing the work of students graduating from BCU's Masters degree in Visual Communication, which took place in October.

He said there was no other space in the city to match the station but he accepted the building needed significant investment.

"It needs quite a lot of work to it. The top floor is uninhabitable. But, with a bit of effort, it could be quite a useable space."

Freddie Gick, chairman of Birmingham Civic Society, said he looked forward to a decision being made on Curzon Street's future.

"This isn't a step backwards. Boarding it up for security reasons has got to be a good thing. But I am looking forward to a time when it's reopened, although I understand a decision on its use should not be rushed into."

He agreed Curzon Street would make a good location for a heritage centre.

A council spokesman said discussions were still going on about the future of the site and it was being boarded up on the advice of their insurers.