Known as the "Last of the Great Railway Stations," Union Station in the heart of Downtown L.A. was designed by the father-son team of John and Donald Parkinson (names that will come up frequently in this blog) in a blend of Art Deco, Mission Revival, and Spanish Colonial styles. The new transportation hub would replace the existing Central Station and La Grande Station. Construction costs were shared by the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railroads, which totaled roughly $11 million. The three railroads all would meet at what was then called the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal, which held its grand opening to a star-studded, half million strong crowd of Angelenos over three days on May 3, 1939.
February 14, 2012.
The three railroad rivals fought bitterly against the city to prevent a shared terminal station from being built, starting as early as 1905 when the first serious proposals for the station were announced. Court cases between Los Angeles and the railroads went as far as the U.S. Supreme Court (twice, actually). In 1930, the nation's highest judicial authority upheld the California Supreme Court's decision from earlier in the year that a Union Station would be constructed, as approved by voters four years earlier. The railroads had declared that the city and various government agencies did not have the authority to require the competing railroad companies to share the terminal, and suggested instead that an elevated railway system be installed throughout the city, each connecting at different points, thus "connecting" the railroads without needing to have one centralized transit hub.
In all, from 1905 until 1933, the three railroads refused to agree to share a union station in Los Angeles, but eventually, the three presidents from each of the companies (William M. Jeffers of the UP; Angus D. McDonald of the SP; and Edward M. Engel of the Santa Fe) announced they would follow the will of the voters and finally make the station a reality. By the time the doors opened in 1939, Union Station had taken 34 years from its initial proposals to completion.
There is another part of the story behind Union Station that is shockingly rooted in bigotry. In 1926, Angeleno voters not only voted in favor of a unified terminal, but also for the redistribution of an entire community. Developers proposed building the station in the middle of Chinatown, as a means to displace and rid the city of many Chinese families. The Los Angeles Times, at that time a highly conservative newspaper, praised the plan and proclaimed that it would "do away" with Chinatown forever. Voters narrowly approved the construction of Union Station, by 51% of the vote. Most of L.A.'s original Chinatown was demolished, and the station was built on top of it. It would not be the last time racism would play a major part in the demolishing of a minority neighborhood for the sake of a large construction project.
During the 1940s, the station was constantly busy, with sometimes as many as a hundred troop trains carrying tens of thousands of servicemen during World War II, and constant newcomers seeking a new life out West. During this time, Los Angeles grew exponentially, and Union Station served as the gateway to the city. However, after the war ended and the city became more car-obsessed, Union Station became a quiet, empty place for several decades. However, after the Metro Red, Purple, and Gold lines were completed, activity started to pick up significantly. More and more Angelenos decided to avoid traffic and take the newly built subway and light rail, and in effect, Union Station became a busy place once again. In 2011, Metro bought the facility and are now actively renovating it. Today, Union Station services over 60,000 people daily.
Grand Opening of the Los Angeles Union Station, 1939.
Another opening day shot.
