Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal scrapbook
- Dates:
- Mar. - May 1939
- Abstract:
- Scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to the opening of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in May 1939.
- Extent:
- 1 Linear Feet 1 oversized box
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal scrapbook, MS 732, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
Scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to the opening of the Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal in May 1939. Scrapbook originated in the Pacific Electric building in Los Angeles, office of public relations.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Los Angeles Union Station is the largest railroad passenger terminal in the Western United States and is widely regarded as "the last of the great train stations." The Station was commissioned in 1933 as a joint venture between the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railroads and was intended to consolidate the three local railroad terminals.
The Station was designed by the father-and-son architect team of John and Donald Parkinson with an innovative blend of Spanish Colonial, Mission Revival and Art Deco architecture now commonly referred to as Mission Moderne. The stunning facility was completed in 1939 for a reported $11 million and opened with a lavish, star-studded, three-day celebration attended by a half million Angelenos.
The Station was designed as an expression of the California lifestyle with a spacious Ticket Concourse equipped with a 110-foot-long ticket counter made of American black walnut, a vast Waiting Room adorned with towering 30-foot windows, Art Deco-inspired chandeliers, inlaid marble floors and hand-painted geometric tiles. The spaces are adjacent to two expansive shaded patios with towering palm trees and an iconic clock tower looming above the entrance.
Located in the southern area of the Station's main building, the famous Fred Harvey restaurant with its "Harvey Girls" was a favorite amongst passengers. Designed by famous Santa Fe architect, Mary Coulter—widely regarded as the inventor of 'southwestern design"—it was the last in a long line of Harvey restaurants across the country. Within just a few years of opening, Union Station transformed into a bustling 24-hour, sevenday-a-week operation with as many as 100 troop trains carrying tens of thousands of servicemen through the terminal every day during World War II.
In 1972 Union Station was designated as a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In April 2011, Metro completed the acquisition of the Union Station property, including 38 acres and 5.9 million square feet of development rights.
History. Union Station Los Angeles. (2024, December 29). https://www.unionstationla.com/history/
- Acquisition information:
- Gift of Robert L. Stacy, 2014.
- Physical location:
- Big Four Building
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-10-06 21:04:04 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Collection is open for research by appointment. Please contact CSRM Library & Archives Staff.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the CSRM Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Los Angeles Union Passenger Terminal scrapbook, MS 732, California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives, Sacramento, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
111 I StreetSacramento, CA 95814, US
- Contact:
- (916) 323-8073