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Finding Aid of the Los Angeles Union Station Collection
0330
0330
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Title: Los Angeles Union Station Collection
Collection number: 0330
Contributing Institution:
USC Libraries Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
22.0 Linear feet
22 boxes
Date: 1913-1969 (bulk 1930s)
Abstract: The Los Angeles Union Station Collection documents the planning and construction of the historic landmark, as well as the
battles that preceded its actual construction. The collection consists of approximately 22 boxes of legal files, blueprints,
maps, correspondence, and planning documents regarding one of Los Angeles's most recognizable architectural icons.
The Los Angeles Union Station Collection contains detailed records of the planning and construction phases of the project,
primarily between 1930 and 1940. Most of the records are composed of correspondence between railroad executives as well as
a large number of blueprints and maps for the project. While the collection has been re-housed in new folders and boxes, the
materials were generally left in their original order and reflect the original filing system used at the station. As a result,
folder titles and sequence appear as they did in the original files.
Beginning in the late 1920s, items in the collection document the railroad companies' legal battle to avoid construction of
the station, disagreements amongst the railroads on the location and design of the terminal, as well as large number of blueprints
and maps for station buildings, tracks, and surrounding areas. The most detailed records document each stage in the construction
of the terminal building as well as a significant number of documents from the project's legal department. The construction
files include a large number of blueprints of different sections of the terminal building as well as surrounding infrastructure
(primarily street improvements and bridge construction). The construction portion of the collection also contains a substantial
number of specifications for portions of the project given to subcontractors as well as information on subcontractors and
vendors. The legal files in the collection include a significant collection of correspondence from the LAUPT legal department,
almost 200 files on personal injury cases brought against the station, as well as a large collection of contracts signed between
LAUPT and subcontractors, vendors, and lessees.
Smaller portions of the collection include files from the project's architectural committee, records of personnel issues,
agreements with the City of Los Angeles, documentation of the land acquisition and vacation process, information on the U.S.
postal facility constructed in conjunction with LAUPT, and agreements with local light rail companies.
Long considered a Los Angeles architectural icon, the Los Angeles Union Station was the last of the"great" train stations
built during the peak of rail travel in the United States. Financed and constructed by the Santa Fe, Southern Pacific, and
Union Pacific railroads and completed in 1939, Union Station centralized passenger rail travel in Los Angeles and provided
the primary gateway into the city before the rise of air and automobile travel. While the building is now a recognizable symbol
of the city, the three major railroads involved in the project fought for decades to forestall its construction. Reluctant
to finance a union station when they already owned and operated separate terminals in the downtown area, the railroads did
not start the project until pressured by local business and political leaders and mandated by the California Railroad Commission.
The railroads appealed the commission's directive for more than a decade but were finally forced to begin land acquisition
and construction in the early 1930s.
The railroads settled on the station's current location because Southern Pacific already owned a significant amount of land
in the area. In acquiring additional property for the project, however, the railroads displaced Los Angeles's original Chinatown,
forcing many Chinese American land owners and tenants to relocate to Chinatown's present location. The community's forced
relocation disrupted the community and destroyed the historic center of Chinese American life in Los Angeles. The dislocation
of the community was controversial even at the time of the station's construction.
After acquiring property for the terminal, the railroads commissioned well-known Los Angeles architects John and Donald Parkinson
to design a station building that reflected Los Angeles's rise to a city of international stature. The Parkinsons were distinguished
for their work on a number of city landmarks, including City Hall, the Bullocks department store, and the Alexandria Hotel.
The architects used a blend of Spanish Colonial Revival and Art Deco design elements to emphasize the city's status as a "modern
city" as well as its "Spanish" heritage. In particular, the architects emphasized the city's "Spanish" heritage in the terminal's
arcades, arches, mission tile roofs, and stucco walls.
While the station was heavily used in its early years, it suffered a period of decline after World War II as airplanes and
automobiles replaced trains as the primary mode of transportation in Los Angeles. The terminal was virtually unused when Catellus
Development purchased and restored it in the 1990s. The City of Los Angeles also revived travel through the station in the
1990s by making it a regional transportation hub in the subway and commuter train systems. The building is currently included
in the National Registry of Historic Places.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.
[Box/folder# or item name], Los Angeles Union Station Collection, Collection no. 0330, Regional History Collection, Special
Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California
The collection contains published articles; researchers are reminded of the copyright restrictions imposed by publishers on
reusing their articles and parts of books. It is the responsibility of researchers to acquire permission from publishers when
reusing such materials. The copyright to unpublished materials belongs to the heirs of the writers. Permission to publish,
quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway Company. -- Archives
Parkinson, Donald B. (Donald Berthold), 1895-1945 -- Archives
Parkinson, John, 1861-1935 -- Archives
Southern Pacific Railroad Company. -- Archives
Union Passenger Terminal (Los Angeles, Calif.). -- Archives
Architecture, Modern--20th century--Archival resources
Blueprints
Correspondence
Los Angeles (Calif.)--Buildings, structures, etc.--Archival resources
Railroad stations--California--Los Angeles--History--Archival resources