Union Station Opens, May 4, 1939

Posted on May 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

June 13, 1915, Southern Pacific Station
Los Angeles Times file photo

June 13, 1915: Before Union Station, there was the Southern Pacific depot on Central between 4th and 5th Streets, which replaced an even earlier depot called the Arcade Station.

 
Jan. 26, 1939, Santa Fe Station

Los Angeles Times file photo

Jan. 26, 1939: There was also the Santa Fe Station and 2nd Street and Santa Fe.

May 4, 1939, Union Station, Big Gun
Photograph by the Los Angeles Times

May 4, 1939: Union Station opens. A Union Station was proposed as early as 1906 as part of Charles Mulford Robinson's City Beautiful project. It sometimes takes a while to get things done in Los Angeles.
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About lmharnisch

I am retired from the Los Angeles Times
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1 Response to Union Station Opens, May 4, 1939

  1. Richard H's avatar Richard H says:
    May 5, 2009 at 8:47 am

    “May 4, 1939: Union Station opens. … It sometimes takes a while to get things done in Los Angeles.”
    A bit of an understatement.
    If the Los Angeles urban histories I’ve read are accurate, the municipal brawling over Union Station rivaled the fight over Chavez Ravine.
    The major reason for building Union Station was to get the passenger trains off downtown streets. Make more room for automobiles and trucks. The Southern Pacific/Union Pacific Alameda St. Passenger terminal was accessed by passenger steam trains going up and down Alameda Street everyday, all day, and at night too, I could imagine. For whatever reason, the major Railroads fought the construction of Union Station tooth and nail when it was proposed during the 1920’s and had proposed their own rival plan for getting the trains off Downtown streets. Obviously, the rival plan was rejected and Union Station was built.
    Spencer Crump’s “Ride the Big Red Cars”, and Scott Bottles’ “Los Angeles and the Automobile” both covered the topic of the Union Station fight in some depth.

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